Queens Chronicle South Edition 10-29-20 by Queens Chronicle

C M SQ page 1 Y K SOUTH QUEENS EDITION Serving Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, South Ozone Park, City Line and JFK Airport

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER VOL. XLIII

NO. 44

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2020

QCHRON.COM

OZONE PARK SHOOTING

SETTING EARLY VOTING RECORDS

RESERVOIR SLOGS

Smoke shop worker dies from gunshots

40,000 hit Queens polls in first two days

NYC H2O educates with bucolic Highland Park hikes

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SEE qboro, PAGE 23

UNDERTESTED One South Queens ZIP code has least COVID testing in city PAGE 4

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4,837

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Source: NYC Department of Health

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The area with lowest amount of testing per 100,000 people in the city is a ZIP code stretching over South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill. Its rate is about half the citywide average. Woodhaven has the second-lowest rate of testing. Both South Queens ZIP codes lag far behind Queens’ highest rate of testing, in Astoria and Long Island City.

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Early voting draws 96,000 in Queens Waits of up to two and a half hours on a peaceful and orderly weekend by Michael Shain Chronicle Contributor

o one could remember anything quite like it. A few hours after early voting began last Saturday, a worker at the Middle Village polling site on Metropolitan Avenue said there had been 80 people waiting on line to vote when he arrived at 8:30 a.m. that morning. “Never seen anything like it,” he said. All over Queens, the wait to cast the first ballots in this year’s contentious presidential election was reported to be several hours. Opening the polls 10 days before Election Day, a practice long-established elsewhere around the country, was authorized in New York only last year. This is the first time it has been done in a national election year. At the Board of Elections storage facility in the Metro Mall, the line doubled back in front of the huge building that once housed Toys ‘R’ Us and K Mart outlets and then tracked down the side. Voters clocked the wait at two hours to get into the Middle Village facility to vote. “I thought it might be an hour,” said Jaclyn Brackhaus of Ridgewood as she neared the end of a two-hour wait. She needed to come out early, she said,

People waited two hours to cast their vote at the Metro Mall in Middle Village last Saturday, the PHOTO BY MICHAEL SHAIN first day of early voting in the city. because her husband was set to work at another early voting site later this week. Saturday was the only chance they had to come out to vote together. In Jamaica, reports were that voters were waiting two and a half hours at York College.

The city’s Board of Elections said 19,223 people voted in the Queens on Saturday, the first day of early voting. On Sunday, the wait times appeared to be much shorter despite the fact that more voters, 21,055, turned out, the BOE said.

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And through Tuesday, the total had risen to 95,899, which put Queens in the middle of the boroughs for overall turnout. And the BOE increased the hours people can vote on the remaining days. [see separate story]. The mood on line at several polling sites visited over the weekend was friendly and orderly, despite the long waits. People said it was important that they come out to vote. Poll workers reported no incidents. In Bayside, at the Korean Community Center on 32nd Avenue — site of the former Bayside Jewish Center, a victim of the changing demographics of the neighborhood — the lines stretched around the building on Sunday. But the wait was just 15 to 20 minutes, voters said. In a reminder that this year’s election includes other contests besides that for the White House, the GOP candidate for Queens borough president, Joanne Ariola, was in Bayside around noon to work the line of waiting voters and promote her underdog campaign against the Democratic favorite, City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton). At York College, which reported the largest turnout in the borough over the weekend, the wait was about an hour on Sunday. Voting continues through Sunday, Nov. 1, at 18 designated early-voting sites around Q Queens.

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South Queens has the least COVID testing Bureaucracy is to blame for lack of sites, activists and lawmakers say by Max Parrott

of testing in ZIP codes stretching over South Ozone Park, Ozone Park and South Jamaica are When Gov. Cuomo designated Ozone Park not far behind. While still below the citywide average, Howas a yellow zone, it served as a warning sign to the borough that the virus was traveling into the ard Beach’s test rates are not as low as the aforementioned neighborhoods. area south of Forest Park. None of that information surprised Felicia But while positivity rates of the yellow zone in the whole Central Queens area have stayed Singh, a neighborhood advocate and District 32 relatively low — hovering below 3 percent for City Council candidate, who has been calling the past seven days — another problem has for more and longer-lasting testing sites in the revealed itself, which precedes the recent rash area for more than three weeks. “I told [NYC Health + Hospitals, the mayor of positive cases. South Queens has exceedingly low rates of and governor] that COVID would travel here COVID testing. Five neighboring ZIP codes in and sadly I was right,” Singh tweeted. When she saw lines wrapping around the South Queens are among the 10 areas with the two-week rapid testlowest r at es of ing site at the Ozone COVID testing in the Park Library on its whole city. Lawmaktill, getting the testing final day on Oct. 2, ers and community Singh filled out a leaders say their sites for all of our districts request for a city-run efforts to set up more site on the border of sites in the area have has been a battle.” the neighborhood met bu reaucr at ic — Councilwoman Adrienne Adams and East New York. resistance. It was not approved, “This is nothing new,” said Councilwoman Adrienne Adams even though at the time the number of con(D-Jamaica). “The whole phenomenon around firmed positive cases per 100,000 people had the lack of testing in Southeast Queens has skyrocketed 650 percent over the two-week period, according to the city’s data. gone on since the onset of the pandemic.” “Still, getting the testing sites for all of our The absolute lowest amount of testing per 100,000 people in the city is bound by a ZIP districts has been a battle,” Adams told the code bisecting Richmond Hill and South Ozone Chronicle over the phone. “We’ve still got comPark, stretching mostly over Adams’ district. munities of color slighted when it comes to testOnly 4,837 per 100,000 people have been tested ing. There is a lot of bureaucracy that astounds there – nearly half of the city’s average rate of when it comes to maneuvering through this.” One of the repeated bureaucratic obstacles testing per ZIP code. The next lowest ZIP code covers most of she faced at the peak of the pandemic was findWoodhaven, just a little farther north. The rates ing spaces that met the requirement of having Associate Editor

“S

A ZIP code stretching over Richmond Hill and South Ozone Park has the lowest level of COVID GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE testing in the whole city. large parking lots. Adams said that she and other Queens lawmakers had to independently raise funds to establish testing at York College in Jamaica because the mayor and governor would not approve it. Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) joined Adams in criticizing the city’s testing site response, calling it “just another example of how Mayor de Blasio is failing New Yorkers with his coronavirus response” in a statement he emailed to the Chronicle. Three weeks after the closure of the Ozone Park site, when the governor made the neighborhood a yellow zone, the Mayor’s Office got back in touch with Singh to tell her that it would

be approving a mobile test site at Tudor Park to run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 26 to 30. Community Board 9 Chairman Kenichi Wilson said the city needs to do more to pursue testing opportunities in areas that the governor has designated as hot spots. He suggested that increased testing may show that the existing level of COVID infection is higher than the numbers the city currently is working with. “When they had the testing at the library on Rockaway Boulevard, that was hot,” Wilson said. “I have a feeling that the results from the testing over there is what pulled us into the yellow because they did do testing in Q the area.”

Friction over flags in Charles Park Patriotic display does not conform with National Park Service standards by Max Parrott For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

Some flag drama unfolded in Charles Park last Friday. Residents confronted the National Park Service after the agency sent representatives to take down a display of several American flags, as well as an FDNY and thin blue line flag, that people had put up in Charles Park in August. The Park Service’s order caused confusion and upset several neighbors, including local activist PJ Marcel who immediately rushed off to a stash of extra American flags to replace those confiscated by the NPS. “We’re putting this flag up and I’ll stand here all day,” Marcel told the Chronicle about what was going on in his mind when he heard about the situation. The flags had originally been erected by Eddie Earl, who began a group called Flags

Across Howard Beach dedicated to spreading patriotism throughout the community by installing American flags, not just in Howard Beach but in other parts of the city too. In August Earl put up a flag display in Charles Park as a tribute to FDNY Battalion Chief Louis Modafferi, who died during the 9/11 terrorist attack on the Twin Towers. That’s where the friction began. Charles Park is run by the Park Service, a stalwart observer of the U.S. Flag Code — a set of rules that rigidly define how to display the American flag. According to the U.S. Code of Laws, the flag should never touch anything beneath it and be displayed in such a manner as to keep it “always aloft and free.” It also cannot have any mark, insignia or other alterations on it. “It’s really two issues. You can’t alter the American flag and then put it up in a national park,” said NPS spokesperson Brenda Ling

After the National Park Service took down a set of flags in Charles Park based on the U.S. Flag Code, residents rallied Friday to replace PHOTO BY PJ MARCEL them. referring to the thin blue line flag, which people have argued is a violation of the U.S. Flag Code in all of its iterations. “The other one is even if it’s the regular American flag, it will still have to be in con-

formance with proper regulations,” she said. On Friday, Marcel gathered some neighborhood friends including Earl to put up a new set of American flags in the park. They were met by Dave Taft, Jamaica Bay unit manager of the NPS, and several other Parks employees, along with state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), and came to an agreement that the residents could hang American flags on the park fence along 165th Avenue. Earl posted to the Flags Across Howard Beach Facebook page that he had hung 12 flags on Saturday. Though the two sides reached a compromise, the Park Service clarified that it can only be a temporary one. “The flags that were put up today, they’re not in conformance and they cannot become permanent features, but for the time being we’re going to leave them,” said Ling. She did not set a definitive date for their Q removal.

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New Ozone Park sign lost and found Vandals cut down, then abandoned refurbished landmark beside park by Max Parrott Associate Editor

On Monday, Ozone Park leaders unveiled a new neighborhood sign. On Tuesday morning, it was gone. Come Wednesday, the sign was found, but the hunt for those responsible is still underway. The rapid sequence of events involving the refurbished “Welcome to Ozone Park” sign started on Monday morning when Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) and other community members gathered with workers from Cannon Signs & Awning to install the new sign near the corner of 149th Avenue and Cross Bay Boulevard. The old version of the iconic symbol of Ozone Park pride had seen better days since being introduced in 2003. By Tuesday morning the new sign had mysteriously vanished. Monday night, within mere hours of its installation, thieves sawed through its base and took off with the heavy object. Ulrich, Addabbo and Amato were

furious. “Last night’s brazen theft of the newly installed ‘Welcome To Ozone Park’ is not only despicable — it is a slap in the face to all residents of Ozone Park. This sign was much more than a greeting — it served as a symbol of the strength and resiliency of this great community and its residents,” they w rote in a joint statement. Wednesday morning two more developments happened. After police secured security footage from the neighborhood that captured two vandals in the act, they sent out a photo of the suspects asking for identifying information. Shortly thereafter, two neighborhood walkers found the sign laying next to the sidewalk south of Vito Locascio Field on North Conduit Avenue and notified the Ozone Park Residents Block Association, and in turn the police. No damage had been done to the sign itself, a mark of the craftsmanship of Joe Cannon, its fabricator. Cannon made the sign from a polyvinyl board and sealed the sign with a special coating used on cars to prevent weathering.

Ozone Park civic leader Howard Kampf, left, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., Councilman Eric Ulrich, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, Community Board 9 Chairwoman Betty Braton and a Cannon Sign worker pose with the new sign. Officers from the 106th Precinct respond to the scene of its recovery. PHOTOS COURTESY NYC COUNCIL, LEFT, AND 106TH PRECINCT “The only way someone could ruin that sign is if someone were to go at it with a hammer,” Cannon said. Though Ulrich, who worked for months with civic leaders to create the new sign, said that he plans to reinstall it next week, he swore that its captors would receive legal consequences.

“It sends a message that some people think they are above the law. They fancy themselves vigilantes. They can do whatever they want. That’s why we’re taking a zero tolerance approach to this,” Ulrich told the Chronicle Wednesday morning, and reiterated it after learning the sign was recovered. Ulrich said that he had talked to

Fatal shooting in Ozone Park Homeless man allegedly murders shop employee by Max Parrott

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Associate Editor

An employee of an Ozone Park convenience store in the 106th Precinct was allegedly shot and killed by a homeless person who had been kicked out of the store on Monday night, police said. Medics rushed Mohmediyan Tarwala, a 26-year-old who worked part-time at Crossbay Express, to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center after he took two shots to his stomach. He died later that night. The accused shooter, Steven Cohen, 63, had gotten into an argument with the shop’s employees earlier and was kicked out of the store. He returned with a gun around 6:15 p.m. and shot at Tarwala and another employee, whom he did not hit, according to the police. As the shooter tried to f lee the scene, an off-duty cop who was in the store, identif ied by the New York Daily News as Officer Jason Maharaj, followed him outside, apprehended him and grabbed the weapon. Maharaj held the shooter at the store until uniformed officers arrived at the scene, NYPD said. Cohen, a former Lindenwood resi-

dent who lives out of a minivan that was parked nearby, had recently become known for creating disturbances in the area, according to Howard Beach community activist PJ Marcel. Cohen was charged with murder, attempted murder and the criminal use of a firearm. The investigation is ongoing. Q

An employee at an Ozone Park convenience store was fatally shot allegedly by a neighboring homeless man on PHOTO BY PJ MARCEL; GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE Monday night.

District Attorney Melinda Katz, and claimed she had told him that she was ready to throw the book at the thieves once apprehended. The police have asked anyone with information on the suspects is asked to call Officer Daniel Rivera at (718) 845-2261 or Detective Borough Queens South at (718) 969Q 5005.

Early voting time expanded With people waiting for hours to cast ballots [see separate story on page 2 or at qchron.com], the city Board of Elections announced poll sites will be open longer. For Friday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 31, early voting hours will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The final day of early voting, Sunday, Nov. 1, will see polls open from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. In total, nine hours have been added to help deal with the long lines. Through four days of early voting, 457,735 people had cast ballots citywide. Queens was in the middle of the pack with 95,899, according to BOE numbers at the end of Tuesday’s tally. Brooklyn had 149,368, including Mayor de Blasio, who waited on line for more than two hours in Park Slope. Manhattan had 100,533, Bronx had 66,393 and Staten Island had 45,542. Nine days of early voting in the city will end Sunday. There are 18 early voting sites in Queens. Nearly 280 polling sites will be used in the borough for Election Day, Q Nov. 3. — David Russell

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P For a new Board of Elections EDITORIAL

nce we are done with this epic election, and know who’s going to occupy the White House, as well as Congress and our own state Legislature, lawmakers here should get right down to remaking the Board of Elections. You remember how the BOE wrongly purged 200,000 voters from the rolls four years ago. You remember how it took six weeks for it to tally results in two congressional primaries last summer. And you remember how just last month a contractor in the BOE’s employ sent nearly 100,000 erroneously labeled ballots to voters. But did you know about the time back in 2000 when someone stuffed hundreds of ballots into an air conditioning duct at the BOE offices, all from a contested state senate district where the incumbent held sway over the board? That’s just one of the scandalous tidbits about the BOE revealed by The New York Times on Monday. Read the Times’ story and you’ll want the BOE dismantled and rebuilt from scratch. The problems are inherent in how the agency

AGE

is run. It’s overseen not by professionals, the way other city agencies usually are, but by the leaders of the two main political parties. They choose 10 commissioners, one from each party from each borough, who then treat the place like their personal fiefdom, appointing friends and relatives to jobs and ignoring whatever nonsense they engage in. Watching Netflix movies, going to the gym and smoking weed seem to among some employees’ favorite activities during the workday. The board is like our last legal vestige of the old Tammany Hall days when patronage and corruption were endemic and acceptable. No other state allows such a thing. And New York can’t afford to any longer: It’s expensive, incompetent and embarrassing. The need for reform is something even Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo agree on — at least in their public comments. Let’s see if they actually mean it. It is, after all, the governments they lead that created this thing and allow it to continue. The BOE simply must be dismantled and rebuilt. It’s time to start over.

Expand restaurant capacity

ey, remember when we were supposed to assess how we were doing with the virus this month and see if restaurants could go from 25 to 50 percent capacity in the city on Nov. 1? We do. You might. Apparently Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio do not. The restaurants sure remember. They rallied outside City Hall Wednesday, begging to be treated the same as all the eateries elsewhere in the state, which mostly can open at 50 percent. Rally leader, restaurant owner and long-shot mayoral hopeful Peter Guimaraes pointed out that while safety is everyone’s primary concern, prudent measures can be taken to allow for greater indoor capacity, according to ABC. And, he said, “The restaurant industry in NYC will go out of business if no modifications are made.” Queens has nearly 6,000 restaurants employing tens of thousands, or at least it did before the virus came. We’ll be lucky if half survive. Cuomo hasn’t said a word about easing up on our eateries, but outside of the remaining red zone in Brooklyn, they should be allowed 50 percent capacity now. The city’s positive test rate for the virus is below 2 percent, despite those recent hikes in a handful of neighborhoods. The trendline looks like that for the state as a whole: virtually flat. We’re just not seeing some great surge. Not everyone is comfortable eating in a tent on the street next to a propane heater in worsening weather. It’s time to let more people come in from the cold. Fifty percent capacity per restaurant sounds about right for now.

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Cuo vs. Blaz flashback Dear Editor: The latest ongoing feud between Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio on how to deal with COVID-19 reminds me of “Stuck in the Middle With You” by the band Stealers Wheel. The words “Clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle with you” from the song perfectly sum up the chaos and gridlock in the Big Apple. De Blasio’s restrictions by ZIP code or Cuomo’s by color coding are reminiscent of the 1980 comedy movie “Airplane” starring Leslie Neilsen. Cuomo and de Blasio argue just like the two dueling airport public announcers Betty and Vernon. They argued over whether the white zone was for loading and unloading of passengers only and whether there’s no stopping in the red zone (except for transit buses). Cuomo and de Blasio might both benefit by participating in mediation counseling to deal with their respective anger management and inability to get along. In the meantime, eight million Big Apple residents continue to suffer. Larry Penner Great Neck, LI

Bioswales not bio-swell Dear Editor: What is the purpose of the many trough-like depressions around Ozone Park? They look like © Copyright 2020 by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. All rights reserved. Neither this newspaper nor any part thereof may be reproduced, copied, or transmitted in any form, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, microfilming, recording or by any information retrieval system without the express written permission of the publishers. This copyright is extended to the design and text created for advertisements. Reproduction of said advertisement or any part thereof without the express written permission of MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. is strictly prohibited. This publication will not be responsiblefor errors in advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Bylined articles represent the sole opinion of the writer and are not necessarily in accordance with the views of the QUEENS CHRONICLE. This Publication reserves the right to limit or refuse advertising it deems objectionable. The Queens Chronicle is published weekly by Mark I Publications, Inc.at a subscription rate of $19 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.

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water troughs for wayfaring horses. All they seem to be doing is harboring discarded trash. If they are meant to be an environmental solution for the Jamaica Bay drainage, how come they are not kept up and are ruining the appearance of the neighborhoods? Ray Hackinson Ozone Park

FoHi biz fines just fine? Dear Editor: I read your Oct. 22 article regarding fines imposed on Forest Hills businesses for noncompliance with COVID regulations (“Biz penalites in FH not going over well,” multiple editions). There is no question that the pandemic has hit small businesses hard. The Forest Hills-Rego Park area has just completed a difficult twoweek period of lockdown caused by local residents’ noncompliance or casual compliance with mask wearing and other COVID fighting measures, which caused a spike in positive cases. And yet, in the photograph accompanying the

article, a local restaurant owner is shown without a mask standing over a table of prepared food. How can one have sympathy for a business owner who so blatantly ignores the health and safety of his customers and his neighbors? Leila Zogby Rego Park

RIP Jack of Alba Pizza Dear Editor: I would like to belatedly express my heartfelt sympathies over the departure of Giacomo “Jack” Virdone, owner and host of Alba Pizzeria & Ristorante in Briarwood. I had first met Mr. Jack 26 years ago when I had moved to Briarwood and went for a slice of Neapolitan pizza, the best in town. He was not just an ordinary shopkeeper; he was a warm friend who loved and conversed with all his customers. Thursday and Saturday night dinner/ dance combos serenaded the whole venue with live Italian and Spanish music, even with vocal solos in Italian by Jack. I could hear him singing

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Decriminalizing sex work

Dear Editor: The COVID-19 pandemic has been economically devastating to New York State. While the path to recovery will be slow and difficult, there is an opportunity for New York to find its way out of this crisis. We must aggressively pursue the goals of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. By investing in renewable energy sources like wind and solar, we can create thousands of jobs for New Yorkers with very good wages and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for communities. Some of those benefits will come to Queens and its residents. Unfortunately, due to the inadequacies of our state’s former siting process known as Article 10, only eight large-scale wind and solar farms have been built in the last few years, with dozens still stalled in the approval process. It is for this reason that Gov. Cuomo must make sure that the newly created Office of Renewable Energy Siting is up and running ASAP, enabling a more quick and efficient transition to a green energy infrastructure. The Office of Renewable Energy Siting will shorten the time it takes for renewable energy projects to be approved and empower communities in the decision making. We need to move towards a carbon-free economy now if we are going to mitigate the future disasters that result from climate change, and at the same time lift New York out of our current economic crisis. Daniel Salamon Bayside The writer is a member of the Sierra Club and the Queens Climate Change Project, and a high school science teacher.

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Dear Editor: Thank you for bringing attention to the decriminalization of sex work in your Oct. 15 article “Legality of sex work, pot use at issue in race” (multiple editions). I want to highlight that labor laws and rights only apply to legal work and industries. In order to extend policies and procedures that protect sex workers, one would have to legalize, not decriminalize, sex work. It is especially important to acknowledge the difference between legalization and decriminalization, as they are specific legal terms of art with specific procedural meanings. Too often these terms are used synonymously, which muddles the policy conversations. Decriminalization removes criminal penalties but doesn’t make the behavior legal. For example, where marijuana is decriminalized, possession is still an offense that exists but is minimally enforced, typically through civil fines. Legalization is removing the action entirely from all criminal and civil statutes, leaving no regulation unless new regulations are implemented. For example, drinking alcohol is legal but regulated. Drinking water is legal without regulation. As a former prosecutor and antitrafficking professional, I want to highlight that while legalization may extend policies that protect sex workers, it will also allow sex traffickers to escape any consequences for their crimes. I support decriminalization of sex work for sex workers and believe that sex buying, pimping and trafficking must be taken at least as seriously as the buying and selling of marijuana. If we need to carve out defenses to protect sex workers, then we need to have that conversation. The same reason legislators are pushing to decriminalize instead of legalize marijuana applies to the sex trade. Decriminalizing marijuana eliminates criminal penalties for possession while leaving the offense for enforcement of felony-related activity that is still criminalized. Decriminalizing selling sex services will eliminate criminal enforcement against trafficking survivors and sex workers while leaving in place procedures to enforce exploitation and violations. To have these policy conversations effectively we cannot conflate legalization and decriminalization. Rochelle Keyhan Washington, DC The writer is Chief Executive Officer of Collective Liberty, an organization fighting human trafficking.

Less carbon, better economy

in Heaven right now, “Volare ... nel blu dipinto di blu,” and “Dimmi quando tu verrai, dimmi quando, quando, quando.” Alba was my Italian home away from home. Alba is Briarwood’s premier restaurant and an Italian cultural hot spot. After many years, Jack said to me one day, “Joe, I am so happy that I have an Italian friend like you living in Briarwood and coming in here!” What warmth! Requiem aeternam dona eis, Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis. Amen. Giacomo, ci vediamo, Giuseppe “Calabrese.” Joseph N. Manago Briarwood

E DITOR

Page 9 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

LETTERS TO THE

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020 Page 10

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Commanders talk of NYPD morale in 2020 Department has worked through COVID, rallies, protests and cuts by David Russell Associate Editor

Between the coronavirus, civil unrest and calls to partially defund the NYPD, it’s been a trying year for many police officers. “The morale is definitely improving from what it was during the height of COVID and during all the protests but it’s still a work in progress,” said Capt. Joseph Cappelmann, commanding officer of the 112th Precinct, encompassing Forest Hills and Rego Park. Capt. Jonathan Cermeli, commanding officer of the 110th Precinct, which serves Elmhurst and Corona, said he tries to uplift his officers when they are discouraged. “The vast majority of people within the communities that we serve support the police. They want the police. They respect the police. They admire the police and they realize that a society without police would ultimately lead to anarchy and crime-ridden streets,” he said. Cermeli said the criminal element would grow without a police presence, with opportunists taking advantage of the absence. “We do something that most people would Three commanding officers of Queens precincts spoke to the Chronicle about police work in never even dream of because of the dangers unprecedented times. FILE PHOTO BY DAVID RUSSELL involved,” he said. “We don’t do it to get rich. Yet, that’s the oath we took,” he said. “We go including elected officials, religious leaders We do it to help other people.” Elmhurst was considered to be the “epicen- out there and we protect everyone regardless and business owners, said all officers should ter of the epicenter” during the worst days of of what their beliefs are ... in many instances not be lumped in with a bad one. “There may be a bad cop somewhere in the pandemic and Cermeli admitted “it was they stand against us.” Cappelmann also spoke about the police America that does something wrong and very scary to operate here.” keeping peace at the protests. should be brought to justice but you can’t But, he said, the officers stepped up. “It definitely is ironic. Obviously the pro- paint us all with the broad stroke of a brush. “They took pride in what they did. While other people were able to stay home and work testers don’t feel that we need to be there but You have to single that person out, maybe remotely, we came to work and we did what we feel the need to protect them whether or there needs to be some policy changes but all we had to do. I think my men and women took not they’re protesting against us, for us,” he police are not bad and people have to support a lot of pride in that and it gave them a real said, adding that they were also prepared in their local police,” he said, adding, “If someone does something bad in our community, sense of purpose and being,” Cermeli said, case counterprotesters arrived. Cappelmann said the rallies in Forest Hills we don’t turn around and just paint the whole adding, “We had to come in. We had to put our hands on people, whether they were sick went off without an issue and organizers community and say, ‘They’re all bad people. worked with police The whole community is bad because one peror injured or in a car to make them safe. son did something wrong.’” accident. We didn’t “I was very happy He believes the NYPD is one of the besthave the luxury of with how all of those trained departments in the world but undersocial distancing.” e don’t do it to get rich. protests went,” he stands why the protests have gained a lot of The number of said. media attention. coronavirus cases We do it to help other The NYPD can“If you have a protest in the middle of some dropped as spring people.” celed regular time farm area upstate it may not garner the attenwaned into summer of f fo r of f i c e r s tion that it would if you were in the middle of but a different chal— Capt. Jonathan Cermeli, amidst the protests. Times Square,” Cermeli said. lenge arose as procommanding officer of the 110th Precinct “At a point in Saying “no profession has perfection,” Cert e s t s we r e h e l d time we were work- meli added, “We are held to a higher standard throughout the couning 12-hour shifts, because we hold an awesome power, it still tr y following the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor at our days off were canceled and that was diffi- applies that we are human and we are bound cult,” said Capt. Louron Hall, commanding to make mistakes or criminal acts, and when the hands of police. “While we were getting bricks thrown at us officer of the 104th Preinct, encompassing those things do occur we have systems in and vehicles vandalized ... We still go out Ridgewood, Glendale, Middle Village and place where people need to be taken out of there and, when they go to protest, we are the Maspeth. “At the end of the day, it was neces- their positions.” He also compared police departments to ones leading the protest as far as security,” sary and what we do.” Cappelmann added, “It took a toll on us. the medical profession and how doctors have Cermeli said. “We’re in the front, we’re in the malpractice insurance. back, we’re on the sides. We’re actually mak- That was a pretty difficult time.” Hall, who was previously commander of “If they screw up a surgery and it goes bad, ing sure that these protesters are safe when the 100th Precinct on the Rockaway Peninsu- we don’t call for the defunding of all hospitals they take over streets.” Cermeli said some people might think it’s la, believes the overwhelming majority of resi- and doctors,” Cermeli said. “We would never say, ‘Let’s get rid of all the doctors and defund crazy seeing police provide protection at anti- dents support the police. “It might be a silent majority right now but hospitals’ because we realize we need them. police rallies. “In any other profession if they said there’s we do have support, especially in the precincts And the police are just as essential as that.” The department, according to Cermeli, gets people that are calling for your demise, calling that I’ve worked in,” he said. Cermeli, who said the 110th Precinct has a rid of its weak links. to completely defund you to the point where “If you’re a bad officer, eventually you’re you have no job, why would you protect them? strong relationship with the community,

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“W

going to be terminated,” he said. “At some level, at some point, we have so much supervision, more so than any other department.” Cermeli said the precinct still receives many 911 calls and he sees that as a testament that people want the police there. “If people truly didn’t want us, I think we would start to see a decline,” he said. “They just wouldn’t call us. If you didn’t want a service and you hated the service and you hated your contractor, you would never call him.” Cermeli said the police force senses gratitude from the community and appreciates being thanked for their work. “That gives my men and women the energy and the momentum and the fortitude mentally to keep going forward in spite of the few that have loud voices,” he said. While some city lawmakers raised concerns about an alleged NYPD work slowdown, the commanders say that hasn’t been a problem they’ve seen. “When they’re called to a scene, they’re going to do what they’re supposed to do,” Cappelmann said. “It’s in their nature to do their job.” Hall added, “It just goes to show that they really love the job that they do and they go out there and do it every day.” If a neighborhood is not safe for residents, it’s not safe for the police either, Cermeli said. “We don’t want to get shot just the same way somebody else doesn’t want to get shot,” he said. “We don’t want to get the virus the same way somebody else doesn’t want it.” Retirements have been on the rise in the department, with a reported 75 percent increase from May through September compared to the same period in 2019. Cermeli said the departures have been tough to deal with because the next class has not come in from the academy to fill the void yet, so some staff has been put back on patrol. “It’s such an extraordinary and such a tough year all around, especially in law enforcement, that some people ... if they were on the fence and they didn’t know if that was the right time, made the decision to retire,” Cermeli said. On a positive note, Cappelmann spoke about how some of his officers recently saved a man threatening to jump off the roof of a building and how the officers have worked on stopping a robbery pattern. “Just seeing everybody work together to try to apprehend these people that are committing these horrible crimes, you see that they really do care about this community and they really do care about the victims,” he said. “That’s really been what I’ve seen as the bright spot over the last few months.” Hall noted the workmanlike attitude of the officers in the department. “Morale has taken a hit but at the end of the day officers, despite what the sentiment is right now, are extremely professional,” he said. “They’re going to go to their respective precincts and do the jobs that they’ve agreed to do.” Cappelmann said, “Hopefully 2021 is a betQ ter year for everybody.”

C M SQ page 11 Y K Page 11 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

Whether it’s a COVID virus related issue or any quality of life matter, I will always be there for my constituents. — JOE ADDABBO

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020 Page 12

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Tensions build over academic screening Advocacy groups clash at City Hall over impending DOE testing decision by Max Parrott Associate Editor

Dueling groups who have been anxiously waiting for months to learn about how competitive school admissions will change this year took to the steps of City Hall last Friday to lobby the city Department of Education on what will happen to the admissions process over the next year. Tensions flared as the two advocacy groups held competing rallies over the city DOE’s impending decision about whether to change the rules for specialized high schools and gifted and talented program admissions. Advocacy group PLACE NYC, Parent Leaders for Accelerated Curriculum and Education, which advocates for maintaining the admissions tests for the schools that use them, initially organized the rally to gain support from city and state lawmakers. But Teens Take Charge, a student-led organization with the goal of doing away with the Specialized High School Admissions Test to address the disproportionately low

enrollment of black and Hispanic students offered in the city’s “elite eight,” staged a surprise counterprotest to push officials to suspend the admissions rules amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The event reportedly devolved in shouting at several points interrupting speakers that included City Councilmembers Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn) and Ben Kallos (D-Manhattan) and state Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn), local politicians who showed up to support PLACE. Brooklyn Council member Ca rlos Menchaca (D-Brooklyn), who announced his bid for mayor this week, showed up to back Teens Take Charge. At t he end of September, Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza told the Chancellors Parent Advisory Council that information about applying to gifted programs and middle and high schools would not be available until mid-to-late October. Tensions have increased as groups continue to lobby on a decision that they expect to be imminent. “At a time of enormous uncer-

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Teaching students to be independent thinkers and lifelong learners.

tainty, clear and consistent communication by the DOE is more essential than ever,” wrote parents from PLACE NYC in an Oct. 8 letter to the chancellor. The city’s affected elementary schools incorporate the city’s Gifted and Talented exam to influence admission. Screened middle and high school programs, aside from the SHSAT schools, across the city also base admissions off a combination of different factors ranging from grades to attendance and other measures. As the decision over testing programs loom, a substantial group of Queens elected off icials have show n suppor t for PLACE’s demand for the mayor and chancellor to hold off on making any sweeping changes to the process during the pandemic. This lists includes state Sens. John Liu (D-Flushing), Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and Toby A n n St av isk y ( D -Flu sh i ng) ; Assemblymembers Nily Rozic (D-Fresh Meadows) and Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills); and Councilmembers Barry Grodenchik

Two advocacy groups faced off at City Hall last Friday over the DOE’s PHOTO COURTESY PLACE NYC impending decision on school admissions. (D-Oakland Gardens) and Karen Koslowitz (D-Forest Hills). Several arg ue that the pandemic has already created enough uncertainty for parents and students, and that the city should work on expanding the programs to reach more students. While most of the legislators’ statements acknowledged racial disparities in the specialized

high schools admissions, they argued that eliminating the test is not the way to address them. “Mayor de Blasio and Chancellor Carranza have both made political statements about G&T and SHSAT that are controversial and disagreeable to many New Yorkers, but now is not a time for politics,” said Liu in a written statement. Q

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Schools chief talks COVID, mandatory testing, plans for admissions criteria by Max Parrott Associate Editor

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza declined to give a definite timeline for mandatory testing enforcement and gifted and talented testing last Thursday at a town hall with District 30’s Community Education Council, which covers an area stretching from Long Island City to Corona. During the event, Carranza was asked about staffing shortages in addition to COVID testing and admissions. While the chancellor did share his goals and priorities for the ever-evolving school curriculum, when it came down to the time frame for addressing many of the parents’ concerns, the answer was most often to be determined. The first thing that he was asked about was the mandatory COVID testing requirement. The city’s goal involves testing between 10 to 20 percent of every school’s population each month. Under Gov. Cuomo’s recent zoned restrictions, the state also requires weekly testing in yellow zone schools. Though the Department of Edu-

Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza held a town hall with parents from ZOOM SCREENSHOT west Queens last Thursday. cation maintains the testing is mandatory, it’s not being performed on students whose parents have not filled out a permission slip. So far the DOE has not set a timetable as to when it w ill en force t he requirement. “There will be a point in time where if you choose to have in-person learning, and absent a widely distributed vaccine, it’s just not safe not to do the randomized testing, and students will be switched to a

remote-only,” said Carranza, but did not clarify when that would happen. The parents then touched on another persistent issue: staffing. “District 30 requested over 600 teachers, and many schools are far short of the staff they need. Remote class sizes are over the contractual max — in some instances with 60 students on a Zoom with one teacher. Some students are not seeing a teacher many, if not most days of the week if they’re in blended learn-

ing,” said CEC Co-president Deborah Alexander. “It’s a moving target,” Carranza responded, adding that the DOE is chipping away at staffing shortages every single day. Since more families have opted into remote learning than the DOE anticipated, it’s created extremely low student-to-teacher ratios, he said, but schools are in the process of recalibrating their class assignments. The matter of school admissions policies, including information about testing for screened gifted and talented programs, was another issue the chancellor declined to make a definitive statement about because of the many unknowns of remote and hybrid learning. “Think about some of the criteria for some of the selective schools or some of the screened schools. They’re heavily weighted on attendance and grading policies,” he said. He said that first the DOE needs its look over its attendance data to establish metrics. After that it will have to create a set of grading criteria before it can announce its

admissions policies. He did not give a timeline for that process. While he did not announce anything definitive about the gifted and talented programs, the chancellor did suggest that he’s looking to use remote learning as a way to expand seats i n g if ted a nd t alented classrooms. Before the town hall ended, Alexander asked a more speculative question about how Carranza saw the future of the city’s school system being different once it can return back to its full in-person capacity. Carranza said that the school system is in the process of “bridging the digital divide” with its remote and hybrid models right now. He said that he sees virtual learning becoming a more permanent supplement to school curriculum, both because the DOE will have enough devices to send home with students and because teachers and students have had a crash-course education on how to use them. “In New York City, I predict, there will no longer be a need for Q snow days,” Carranza said.

Page 13 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

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Richmond Hill gets a Punjab Avenue Street name to recognize immigrant community’s contributions to area by Max Parrott Associate Editor

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South Queens leaders, legislators and members of the community gathered to celebrate the co-naming ceremony of Punjab Avenue last Friday. The new name is intended to recognize the contributions of the residents from Punjab, a northern region of India, whose immigrant population forms a substantial part of the fabric of Richmond Hill and Queens at Harpreet Singh Toor, left, talks with Councilwoman Adrienne Adams, large. Punjab Avenue is right, and District 28 Community Education Council member Rajwindlocated on 101 Avenue er Kaur. PHOTOS COURTESY NYC COUNCIL; CHHAYA CDC, TOP overdue recognition for the contributions of the bet ween 111t h a nd Punjabi community both locally and through123rd streets. The City Council voted to approve the out the city.” “I am so proud to join Council Member request of Councilwoman Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) for the co-naming in December Adrienne Adams for this culturally significant street co-naming and thank her for her work to 2019. “It is important that New York City’s diverse highlight the remarkable diversity we have in communities see themselves and their varying the world’s borough, Queens,” said Assemblycultures represented in the historical land- man David Weprin (D-Fresh Meadows). “I personally believe that this is the first step scape,” Adams said in a prepared statement. “The co-naming of Punjab Avenue is a long after a long struggle by the Sikhs,” said Harpreet Singh Toor, former president of the Sikh Cultural Society. “After chaotic events we became a target. This historical recognition that has taken place today shows the willingness to understand us as a community and as a people.” “Today I am filled with pride. I am a proud American, and most of all I am a proud Punjabi American,” Democratic nominee for Assembly District 38 Jenifer Rajkumar said. “I stand before you today as the first Punjabi soon-to-be Q elected to the New York State Assembly.”

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Page 15 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

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One more shot for in-person Mayor announces change in opting-in policy by Max Parrott Associate Editor

Parents who signed their children up for remote-only instruction in New York City public schools will now only have one opportunity to switch to a hybrid schedule that includes in-person learning, Mayor de Blasio announced on Monday. The switch represents an abrupt and major change from the mayor’s messaging on the potential to opt-in up to this point. As recently as last Thursday when Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza attended a virtual Community Education Council meeting in western Queens, the administration had promised parents that they would have one opportunity to opt in for hybrid learning per semester, adding up to four for the entire year. Now they’ll have to make a decision for the rest of the year over the next two weekperiod. De Blasio, accompanied by Carranza, told parents on Monday that they will have from Nov. 2 to 15 to enroll their students in blended learning. “This will be the only time to opt in, which is a change from what we originally had said over the summer. We think that this is better for the sake of stability for all students, for families, and educators. So, we

Mayor de Blasio announced Monday that parents would have one more opportunity to FILE PHOTO opt in for hybrid learning. urge any family who is considering it to take advantage of this opportunity to do so now,” said Carranza at the press event. He and de Blasio framed the shift as a positive for students that will provide more stability to the school system going forward. “Parents have a lot more information and I understand any parent that wanted more information before making a choice — well, now that we’ve been able to show how our schools are working, it’s time for an opt-in period,” said de Blasio. The new information came in the same

press event where de Blasio announced that only a little more than a quarter of students have attended in-person classes since the school system began to reopen at the end of September, a stat that has undercut his reasoning for pushing for inperson learning in the first place: that most parents want it. At a press gathering on Tuesday, the mayor was asked about the connection between the new attendance data and his decision to limit the opportunities for parents to opt in. “We really need to start settling things and making final decisions about how things are going to be laid out, the final levels of staffing, etcetera. So, parents now have gotten to see the school year in action. They’ve gotten to see how safe it is. It’s time to make some decisions,” de Blasio said. The mayor and chancellor said that one final opt-in period would offer more stability to principals, who have had to continually balance a tide of families opting out of hybrid learning for remote-only instruction over the past month. For information on opting-in to the blended learning plan the city posted information Q at schools.nyc.gov/returntoschool2020.

AG enforce$ the rent laws The state Attorney General’s Office has secured more than $613,000 in penalties and restitution from developers who f louted rent-stabilization rules and deceived tenants, AG Letitia James announced Monday. Three of the four cases that yielded the agreements to pay occurred in Queens. The sponsors of the offering plan for the Bridgeview Tower Condominium, in Long Island City, who utilized 421-a tax benefits, indicated that residents would not be tenants, the AG’s Office said. But in the end they were, and under rent-stabilization protections. The sponsor now must pay a $150,000 penalty. The sponsor of the 5-11 50th Avenue Condominium, also in LIC and using 421-a benefits, falsely told the AG’s Office that the building was vacant, the a n nou nc e me nt s a id . It w i l l pay $178,842 in restitution and refund $21,158 to tenants. The sponsor of the Millennium 99 Condominium in Rego Park failed to treat certain tenants as rent-stabilized and overcharged some, the AG’s Office said. It will pay $159,592 in restitution, along with $43,066 to tenants and a $30,000 penalty. Q A fourth case was in Brooklyn.

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The NYPD will enroll a class of 900 recruits in the Police Academy in November, according to a statement from Commissioner Dermot Shea on Oct. 23. “Next week, the NYPD will send out offers to the 2020 November Academy class,” Shea said. “Before the new class starts, the NYPD uniform headcount will be approximately 34,200. The new class will be 900 recruits, bringing the uniform head count closer to the level expected in the Adopted Budget.” Shea said due to budget cuts and attrition, the headcount is lower than the

approximately 36,900 uniform members of service at this point in 2019, “With the new class, the NYPD will be able to ensure public safety as the City continues to face a pandemic-driven perfect storm,” Shea continued. “In this difficult financial time, the Department is grateful for the Mayor‘s leadership.” The Chief Leader, a newspaper dedicated to civil service and government employee issues, reported that one class was canceled in March because of COVID-19, and Q another in July due to budget cuts. — Michael Gannon

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crucial warning needed to escape. I urge every New Yorker to check their smoke alarms this week, and if you do not have one, install one immediately where you sleep and on every level of your home.” Firefighters will give away batteries from 3 to 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct, 29, at the Roosevelt Avenue-74th Street subway hub in Jackson Heights and on Friday, Oct. 30 at the Stop&Shop supermarket at 70-20 Rockaway Beach Blvd. in Arverne; and from noon to 4 p.m. at the Queens Village Long Island Rail Road station at Jamaica Q Avenue and Springfield Boulevard.

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Public service chapter enters its final pages Grodenchik will not seek re-election, looks back on lifetime of service by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

“It’s about helping people. Otherwise, what’s the point? If I’m remembered for anything, I want [it to be] that I saw people who needed help and I helped them,” City Councilmember Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) said as he enjoyed the chilly October weather, his favorite time of the year, and sipped coffee in his backyard last Thursday. It was a taste of what’s to come in his retirement. He had spent the morning meeting with constituents on the street and distributing face coverings, a pastime he found himself doing multiple times a week during the pandemic. The two-term councilmember announced Oct. 14 he would not seek re-election for his District 23 seat, though he promised to finish out the remaining 14 months of the term. Grodenchik will be 61 when retirement rolls around, though he joked that he’d only be 36-years-old if one counted his career in public service. Throughout the past three decades, the Pomonok Houses native has maintained a constituent-first philosophy, which he inherited from former Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn, for whom he worked as a staff member in his first public service job. “She said to me, ‘You’ll never get rich

City Councilmember Barry Grodenchik revealed Oct. 14 that he would not run for a third term as the District 23 representative. With 14 months of service left, he looked back on his accomPHOTO BY KATHERINE DONLEVY plishments and what he hopes to continue. doing this kind of work, but the feeling you get from helping people is wonderful,’” he said. “That’s really the best feeling. When I walk down the street and someone stops me to say, ‘thank you’ for whatever it is — it doesn’t get any better than that.” Grodenchik went on to work as the

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Queens regional representative for Gov. Mario Cuomo, in leading roles under the last three Queens borough presidents and as the District 22 assemblymember before landing in the City Council in 2015. In his five years as the 23rd District city councilmember, Grodenchik voted on nearly 6,000 pieces of legislation, co-sponsoring more than 250. Of the 24 bills he primarily sponsored, six have been passed into law, whereas the rest remain pending. “My greatest frustration is how slow bureaucracy can be at times because there are many, many moving parts ... it’s frustrating not just for me, but for the constituents,” he said. As an example, Grodenchik pointed to a year-long, nearly completed effort to adjust an erroneous tax assessment for Glen Oaks. He said the fix will reduce what the neighborhood pays by at least $450,000. His greatest achievements, however, can be divided into two camps, the first being the advancement of area schools and parks. “Those are physical totems,” he said. A member of the Council Education Committee, Grodenchik worked to secure over 2,600 additional seats in the 26th and 29th school districts. Although he’s not confident that all will be in place before he leaves office, nearly 900 are already open to students. He’s been instrumental in opening three new schools and securing funding for three additions to existing schools, including an impending $70 million upgrade to PS 26 in Fresh Meadows. He also pointed to his contributions toward city park improvements, including 10 district playground restorations, three of which have already been completed. Grodenchik, who previously served as chairman of the Parks Committee, founded the Playfair Parks Coalition to rally for historic funding for city greenspaces. Most recently, work to restore the 110-year-old Vanderbilt Motor Parkway began thanks to $1.25 million secured by Grodenchik. “On the other side of the ledger, I’m most

proud of the advocacy we’ve done for emergency food, which is food pantry food,” he said, referring to his joint effort with General Welfare Committee Chairman Steve Levin (D-Brooklyn) to increase food pantry funding to $16 million in 2016. “That funding — didn’t know it at the time — was critical in this COVID pandemic.” Throughout the pandemic, the councilmember worked with food pantries such as those run by Commonpoint Queens, Food Bank for New York City and Catholic Charities of New York, and often personally delivered meals to the doors of vulnerable constituents. Despite the joy working with and for his community brings him, Grodenchik decided it was “time to put a period on this chapter” of his life. “There’s a time for all things,” he said. His last two years in the City Council were tough: He admitted to making unwanted advancements on a female staffer last May, which cost him his position as Parks Committee chairman; suffered the loss of two great mentors and friends, Mayersohn and former Queens Borough President Claire Shulman, within seven days this summer; and contracted the virus that has plagued the world, confining him to his bed for weeks. The decision to retire had been weighing on Grodenchik’s mind for some time, but falling sick and being forced to take more days off the job than he ever had before was what ultimately pulled the trigger. When December 2021 comes around, Grodenchik will go from working seven days a week to none. What will he do with all his newfound free time? “I don’t know yet,” he said, adding that he’s considered traveling and hiking out West, though he admits he still has plenty of time to decide. Until then he’s going to continue visiting schools and civic meetings via Zoom and bringing necessary personal protection materials and food supplies to those in need. He will also continue his reliable — as his Twitter followers can attest to — daily weather reports and frequent park walks. “I’m very grateful for the opportunities I’ve had. I’ve been very lucky to work with great people ... I made house calls, I got paid to help!” Grodenchik said. “People need help, wherever you are in the city, people need help ... It’s very serious work and it’s a great honor to be able to it ... I think it’s all Q about the people.”

Corrections The Oct. 22 story “Holding Out for the Richmond Library” misidentified which entity will decide whether it can afford to fund the library project. It is the Queens Public Library system. The Oct. 22 story “Two more schools in Queens lockdown” misstated which school is in which community in the first reference. We Q regret the error.

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DOT project to begin within two weeks, five months past schedule by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

The Flushing busway pilot plan will begin within the next two weeks, the Department of Transportation announced Oct. 23, cementing a controversial change that has been delayed five months. The project, originally scheduled to begin in June, will close off vehicular traffic for the 0.6-mile stretch of Main Street from Northern Boulevard to Sanford Avenue to speed up bus service. Though commuters rallied behind the plan, area businesses opposed it, claiming it would reduce patronage from customers who drive into Downtown Flushing. The section of Main Street set to be altered already features bus and truck priority treatments in the southbound direction that resulted in a 23 percent increase in bus speeds between 2017 and 2018, according to the Mayor’s Office. The new announcement came shortly after Mayor de Blasio was pressed by a bus rider on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show.” “I can tell you that on these commutes we feel forgotten and like nobody cares ... when you made that promise to us students, essential workers and bus riders to finally make us a priority on our own streets with 20 miles of busways and bus lanes, I don’t know if you’ll understand how that made us feel seen and

heard as bus riders in a way that we really don’t during our daily commute, but its been five months now and we’re still waiting, stuck in traffic and packed buses,” said Zeke, a Queens College student who relies on mass transit to get to school. De Blasio agreed that bus service has long been neglected — “That’s not what I want in New York City, I want everyone to be seen and heard” — but admitted that the initial plan to expand busways by 20 miles before the end of 2020 was too ambitious. The new threshold, the mayor said, will be closer to 17 miles. “We have a particular issue in Flushing with community organizations and leaders and businesses that we’re addressing, but this is the way of the future — to keep expanding the speed and the reach of bus service ... the future of New York City is mass transit,” he said. But the small businesses in Flushing also feel ignored by the city in the same way the bus riders have. “They’re frustrated ... The business community is struggling to get back, and now comes the busway. The Main Street busway is a problem. It’s a project where the community feels it’s not the right time,” DianSong Yu, executive director of the Downtown Flushing Transit Hub Business Improvement District, told the Chronicle. Yu said that the community might have

Page 19 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

Flushing busway en route despite objection

Some Downtown Flushing community members and businesses and their City Council representative Peter Koo have been fighting the Main Street busway plan since it was announced in June, PHOTO BY KATHERINE DONLEVY but the DOT revealed it would push forward in the next few weeks. been more willing to accept the test pilot in normal circumstances, but fears reduced parking and traffic flow for passenger cars will deter a large percentage of consumers from shopping in the area. The Flushing BID conducted a survey among small businesses from July to September, which found that nearly 98 percent of Downtown Flushing businesses opposed the project. Of the 231 shopkeepers that participat-

ed in the questionnaire, the owners of only two felt the change could make a positive impact, and one remained neutral. In an attempt to take concrete steps against the project, the Flushing Chinese Business Association, representing nearly 1,500 businesses, sought legal representation to push against the MTA, which operates the bus lines. The fight never escalated to a lawsuit, but the continued on page 20

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Biz owners, Holden decry city penalties Middle Village sees inspectors in area nonstop over past few weeks by David Russell Associate Editor

Business owners on Dry Harbor Road, Metropolitan Avenue and Eliot Avenue in Middle Village are voicing concerns about constant visits from the city to enforce COVID regulations. “In all their speeches and everything else, ‘Oh, we have to help the small businesses. Oh, we have to help these poor people,’” one business owner told the Chronicle, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “Yet, whenever they come around it becomes an adversarial situation where we’re just afraid as business owners. How much is it going to cost me?” The owner said the Depar tment of Health visited on two separate days and the Department of Buildings arrived on two days. They were helpful and instructive, the owner said. None of the four visitors said anything about having tape on the floor for distancing purposes. But the Depar t ment of Consu mer Affairs showed up the following week and the owner was written up for not having tape on the f loor. The owner asked if it could be put down while the investigator was right there but that was not allowed. “That’s not so nice,” the owner told the Chronicle, adding, “If they come one day, they ask you 20 questions and you get one or two wrong and then you actually fix them while they’re here, do you deserve a visit in two days from another person who is possibly goi ng to f i nd someth i ng different?” A hearing to appeal the su m mons will be in late January. The owner wondered why the cit y, which has been handing out masks to the general public, couldn’t just provide some stickers for businesses to put on the floor. “How much would that cost the city? And that would solve the concern of the city without necessarily having to charge me whatever they’re going to charge me for the violation,” the owner said. Matson’s Delicatessen on Dry Harbor Road has also seen a revolving door of inspectors visiting in recent weeks. Owner Louise Fawcett said inspectors from all agencies have been visiting. “It’s every city worker who has nothing better to do,” she said. Fawcett said a DOT inspector sprinted into the store at one point and then walked out, saying that customers were wearing masks. She has been filling out all the logs and temperature checks required by the law. “I feel like a child in kindergarten,” said Fawcett, who has been running the delicatessen for 30 of the 40 years it has been open.

The anonymous business owner, who called the constant visits “a little disturbing,” said the company was closed for several months during the worst of the pandemic. “We’re all trying to make up for lost time, especially the small businesses that were closed,” the owner said. “Obviously it’s in my best interest for no one on my staff to get sick and none of my customers to get sick because if one of us gets sick that’s not good for business.” The business owner said things have reached the point where the inspectors are not being allowed in. “I’m afraid to even let them in because there could be a minor technicality that’s going to cost me $1,000 or more,” the owner said, noting that the inspectors acknowledged that the owner did not have to allow them in. What the owner wants to see is the city helping businesses comply. “We have to be on the same team,” the owner said. “If this is truly about the health of everyone in general don’t make the visits to be where you’re trying to catch us in something small or technicalities. Just tell us what to do and the next time we’ll do it.” The owner called the situation “demoralizing ... Every time they visit, to have them find another $1,000 reason for me to write another check, it’s not really fair.” A nother Middle Village busi ness, Mario’s Meats, has expressed its frustration with a poster near the door of Gov. Cuomo’s and Mayor de Blasio’s faces Photoshopped over Lloyd Christmas and Harry Dunne from “Dumb and Dumber,” with the message, “As per request of our wonderful dictator leaders K ing Cuomo and Q u e e n D e Bl a s i o Everyone must wear a mask in order to enter.” Taking a more politic tack, Councilman Bob Holden (D-Middle Village), whose office is almost directly across the street from Matson’s Delicatessen, wrote to de Blasio, voicing his unhappiness over the treatment of the area businesses. “When our businesses are struggling with having to juggle a decline in customers, severe restrictions, and taking measures to ensure their staff and customers are safe during this pandemic, I do not believe it is appropriate to add additional burdens,” Holden wrote. The lawmaker said he wants to see discretion used by inspectors. “Instead, it seems that the inspectors are instructed to enter a business, give propri-

Middle Village businesses, such as Matson’s Delicatessen, are frustrated as city agencies have been eager to penalize the owners for COVID violations, sometimes with mixed messages. A different business, Mario’s Meats, has a Photoshopped image of Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio PHOTOS BY DAVID RUSSELL in the 1994 film “Dumb and Dumber.” etors a difficult time, and subsequently issue summonses instead of providing education,” Holden wrote, adding, “For nearly 3-years now as a Council Member, I have consistently stressed to your office the importance of outreach, education, and communication. I continue to see a lack of t h e s e q u a l it ie s c o m i n g f r o m you r Administration.” Holden, who called the fines “insult to injury,” told the Chronicle his office is getting calls from business owners. “It’s disgraceful but it’s how the city and state have done business for so many years that they can’t help it,” he said. “That’s the way they’re programmed.” Holden said the city should be working with businesses to explain the changing policies that owners have had to deal with. “You have to have a scorecard for that, to figure out what’s in, what’s out, what’s

in effect, what’s not in effect,” he said. “Our office has a tough time keeping up with all the regulations. I can imagine small businesses who are just trying to survive and that’s the worst thing about all this.” Holden said penalizing the small businesses while they battle the coronavirus “borders on criminal.” He is not holding his breath on hearing back from City Hall. “We’ll see if they answer us,” Holden said. “They rarely do.” The Mayor’s Office did not respond to a request for comment for this story. Holden said some business owners may believe they don’t have the time or energy to fight City Hall but he doesn’t want to see them discouraged. “If you’re in the right, you don’t give up because you will eventually win,” he said. Q

Busway coming to Flushing continued from page 19 organization and city agencies met several times to discuss the busway. Cit y C ou n c i l m e m b e r Pe t e r Ko o (D-Flushing) had requested that the DOT delay the project until the already struggling businesses had a stronger economic foothold. “This is the wrong plan at the wrong time and could be the dagger in the heart of what was once a vibrant Flushing community,” he said in an Oct. 16 statement. Community Board 7 had joined the businesses in opposition to the plan, and at

the Oct. 26 meeting Chairperson Gene Kelty expressed his hopes that Koo would continue fighting against the busway. Kelty had said in July that he would be one of presumably many consumers who will take their business elsewhere where finding parking for out-of-the-neighborhood shoppers would be easier. The DOT has not revealed a specific date for when the busway will be implemented, but said that some changes, such as street markings, sign installations and parking mitigations, will begin in the next Q two weeks.

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Dromm says DOT agrees to changes and extensive community outreach by Michael Gannon Editor

Nine-year-old Anna sat in the middle of 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights last Saturday, drawing a big heart with large sticks of colored chalk. “I like coloring in the street,” Anna said. “I like running with my friends and playing with my friends.” “Our children are very safe,” said her mother, Lourdes. “My 5-year-old son learned to ride his bike in the street this summer.” “Everyone’s child learned to ride a bicycle in the street this summer,” said Dawn Siff of the 34th Avenue Open Streets Coalition. Their neighborhood has enjoyed the relatively traffic-free avenue since last spring when it was named an Open Street in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which had people holed up in their homes for weeks or even months. And while the Open Streets program has shut down for the season officially, folks in Jackson Heights should be able to enjoy 34th Avenue a good deal longer. “Yesterday I spoke with the [city’s Department of Transportation],” Councilman Danny Dromm (D-Jackson Heights) said Saturday in Travers Park. “There is an agreement with the DOT to make the changes to 34th Avenue permanent.”

Marchers, skaters, cyclists and scooter riders took to 34th Avenue in Jackson Heights last Saturday in an effort to make the roadway’s designation as an open street permanent. The 17-bock PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON march concluded at Travers Park. The announcement came at the end of a 17-block march by residents of Jackson Heights and Corona with the aim of asking the DOT to do just that. Since spring, neighborhood residents, most members of the 34th Avenue Open Streets Coalition, are up at 7 a.m. to place barricades

at the eastern and western ends of each block on 34th from Junction Boulevard to 69th Street; and are back at 7 p.m. to move them aside. Area residents can still park on 34th Avenue as long as there is space. North-south traffic is unimpeded, and there are no retail

businesses or commercial properties until the very western section near 69th. Resident drivers needing to make a turn do need to exercise more care. “Local residential traffic is of course, allowed on the Open Streets, they just have to go slowly, 5 MPH,” Siff told the Chronicle in an email. “Typically a driver would get out and move the barricade, then move it back. Frequently I have seen pedestrians on the Open Street will move the barricades for a local driver and wave them through.” Saturday’s march, with sign-carrying walkers, cyclists, roller bladers and scooters, began just west of Junction Boulevard and went to 78th Street, where the march made a right turn into Travers Park. It was preceded by a mini pep rally at which Siff, Nuala O’Doherty Narando and other residents spoke of their desire both to make the change permanent and to extend it eastward across Junction Boulevard into Corona as far east as 114th Street, where the roadway ends. “We’re not leaving our Corona neighbors behind,” Siff said. She and others also gave shoutouts to coalition member Jim Burke — “The mayor of 34th Avenue,” Siff said — who was hospitalized. continued on page 30

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Jury trials return after seven months Potential jurors arrive at Borough Hall amidst changes in protocols by David Russell Associate Editor

Court is in session. After being interrupted by the pandemic, ju r y t r ials are ret u r ning for Queens Supreme Court Civil trials. For spacing, Borough Hall in Kew Gardens was used for jury selection instead of the Queens Civil Courthouse in Jamaica. Because of COVID restrictions, 25 potential jurors wait in rooms before being called to the main jury room. “It just takes a little longer but it’s working out fine because our whole goal is to keep everybody safe,” Queens County Clerk Audrey Pheffer told the Chronicle. She said people called for jury duty have been arriving. “You get a little nervous and you say, ‘Gee, I wonder if people will come. Will they believe we’re being as careful as we should?’” Pheffer said, adding, “People trust us and they are coming.” Court officers take people’s temperatures and ask health-related questions. If someone says they have a cough or is unsure about their health, they’re told to come back the next time, Pheffer said. “We’re being as understanding as we can because it is such a difficult time,” she said. Monday saw a 55 percent turnout, an

“excellent” number, according to Pheffer, especially given the bad weather. The waiting room for potential jurors, can hold 72 people, less than half the usual amount, with chairs being blocked off for social distancing, Pheffer said. There are changes in the court proceedings, such as microphones around the room and Plexiglas around the witness box, in front of the judge and around lawyers. “The jurors are not sitting in a little jury box because then you would be on top of each other,” Pheffer said. “They’re sitting where the audience would sit.” Arraignments and hearings were conducted virtually from mid-March to July, and grand juries returned in August. Grand juries for criminal court cases resumed over the summer. Chief Judge Janet DiFiore noted that dozens of grand juries involving hundreds of jurors across the city since Aug. 10 gives her confidence going forward. “We know and understand that one of the defining features of the democratic system of government is the right to a trial by jury, and so our ability to once again hold jury trials, even on a limited basis, is exceedingly important notwithstanding the disruption of the pandemic,” she said in an online video message.

Queens County Clerk Audrey Pheffer said if someone reporting for jury duty raises a health conFILE PHOTO cern, he or she is told to come back the next time. DiFiore warned viewers that things can change, however. “And I have said this before: all of this is not to say that there won’t be difficulties, or even setbacks, as we head into the cold weather months, but you can be assured that we are moving ahead cautiously, we are monitoring the COVID metrics closely, and

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Page 23 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

ARTS, CULTURE C & LIVING

NYC H2O educates with bucolic Highland Park hikes Highland Park clings like a barnacle to the south side of Ridgewood. In warmer weather, its out-of-the-wayness makes it a favored spot for joggers trying to avoid automobile traffic and a quiet spot for family parties. In the center of the park sits a decommissioned reservoir that, in the years between the Civil War and the Korean War, supplied Brooklyn with fresh water. These days, 90 percent of the city’s water comes from reservoirs upstate — and the Ridgewood Reservoir is a white elephant. NYC H2O, a nonprofit that runs educational

programs about New York’s water system for city schools, has taken on the job of foster parenting the orphaned reservoir in the last few years. To show off just how much the 50-acre site has appreciated the attention, NYC H2O last weekend restarted its monthly community tours that had been suspended since the outbreak of the virus last spring. Matt Malina, an energetic high school math teacher, started NYC H2O in 2014 to bring city schoolchildren in every borough to the places where their water comes from, including the Central Park Reservoir in Manhattan, Silver Lake in Staten Island and Jerome Park Reservoir in the Bronx. From the beginning, the Ridgewood Reservoir

continued on page 25

For the latest news visit qchron.com

by Michael Shain

was special, he said last week. “It’s in the center of everything, quite literally,” he said. Located in Highland Park on the Brooklyn-Queens border, the reservoir is within a 20-minute bus ride of 760 schools in the two boroughs, Malina figures. “It is by far our most popular tour,” he said. When it was opened on the eve of the Industrial Revolution, the reser voir was the main source of water for Brooklyn, then an independent city. Fed by aqueducts from Long Island, the site quickly grew to three basins holding 300 million gallons of water, an eight-day supply back then. (Today, New York City uses that much water before noon.) When Long Island authorities shut off the

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020 Page 24

C M SQ page 24 Y K

King Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 Cracker spread 5 Easter entree 8 “The Thin Man” dog 12 Verve 13 Past 14 Use scissors 15 Sudden temperature drop 17 -- Christian Andersen 18 Dueler’s ally 19 Pass by 21 Watch chain 22 Foolish 23 Andrews or Edwards, for ex. 26 Path 28 Gaggle members 31 Conks out 33 Joke 35 Paint crudely 36 “Yes we can” man 38 O ft-tattooed word 40 Kan. neighbor 41 Mr. Gingrich 43 Tear 45 Curvy-horned antelope 47 Time of the mammoths 51 Churlish one 52 Guiding principle 54 Not working 55 Under the weather 56 Takeout phrase 57 Start a garden

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME! 58 Nutritional qty. 59 Health centers

DOWN 1 Chest muscles, for short 2 Lotion additive 3 Body powder 4 The -- the line 5 Purse 6 Khan title 7 Motorized bike 8 Embarrassed

9 Crisp-pod legume 10 Supermarket stack 11 Church section 16 Winter forecast 20 Drag along 23 Commotion 24 Little white lie 25 Tall thin person 27 Thanksgiving veggie 29 Seek damages 30 “Chicago” lyricist 32 Slandered 34 Ape

37 Piercing tool 39 Cinderella’s horses, really 42 Long-snouted critter 44 Nuisances 45 Wading bird 46 Fashion 48 On 49 Infatuated 50 Cupid’s alias 53 Antiquated

Answers on next page

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

Michael Cullen, king of grocers, died so young

AT TLC YOUR TRUST IS OUR MISSION Arriving to care for you or your loved ones with maximum safety precautions including face shields, masks, gloves, sanitizers and more.

by Ron Marzlock

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Chronicle Contributor

Michael Cullen, born in 1884, the son of Irish immigrants, went to work at age 18 in 1902 for the A&P grocery store chain. In 1919 he went to over to Kroger Stores and became a district manager. He had big ideas for growth and expansion but they fell on deaf ears. In 1930 Cullen put his ideas to work in a big old garage at 171-06 Jamaica Ave., opening up his first supermarket. It was 10 times the size of any A&P, a huge success. He bought a house at 84-45 169 St. in Jamaica for his wife, Nan, and their three sons, James, Robert and John. But at age The home of Michael Cullen, founder of King 52 in April 1936 his appendix burst and Kullen Supermarkets, at 84-45 169 St. in peritonitis, a fungus infection, set in and Jamaica, as it appears today. GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE; KING KULLEN PHOTO, INSET killed the founder of King Kullen. His brave wife then took the reins and ran the company with her young sons. In now the CEO of the company, in Point LookOctober 1940, a still young and attractive out, where she passed away in June 1975. The Smithsonian Institution recognizes woman, she married William Blaney, owner of Federal Sweets & Biscuit Co. of New Jer- King Kullen as the first American modern sey and moved with her sons to Great Neck, supermarket. It is still operating today with LI. She became a widow again in October 29 stores on Long Island and an annual $800 Q 1962 and moved in with son John, who was million in revenue.

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by David Russell associate editor

Free speech. America’s reaction to the Holocaust in the 1940s. A popular celebrity living with Parkinson’s disease. Commonpoint Queens’ virtual author series continues this fall with experts discussing Jewish heritage and a variety of other topics, from censorship to aging. Suzanne Nossel, CEO of the human rights organization PEN American, wrote, “Dare To Speak: Defending Free Speech For All,” which she will discuss Nov. 2 at noon. The event is $10 or $8 for members. Nossel, who held senior State Department positions in the Clinton and Obama administrations, will speak about how to maintain open debates while being respectful of different backgrounds and opinions as the battle over so-called cancel culture and censorship rages on. Former “Good Morning America” host

Book talk series When: Through Thu., Nov. 19 Where: Commonpointqueens.org Entry: Varying prices. (718) 268-5011

Joan Lunden’s “Why Did I Come Into This Room” delves into various phases of aging. The book is a funny “What to Expect When You’re Expecting” for the aging woman. Lunden’s talk, in partnership with the Marcus Jewish Community Center of Atlanta Book Festival, will be Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. The event is $11 for a virtual ticket or $36 for a ticket and one copy of the book. Rafael Medoff, who has authored more than 20 books about Jewish history, will discuss the United States’ actions during the Holocaust in his talk Nov. 9 at noon. “The Jews Should Keep Quiet: Franklin D. Roosevelt, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, and America’s Response to the Holocaust,” explores the president’s private sentiments toward Jews and how the administration rejected pleas to drop bombs on the railways to Auschwitz. The event is $10, or $ 8 for members. Ayala Fader explores Jewish men and women who secretly explore the outside world while remaining in their ultra-Orthodox religious communities in “Hidden Heretics: Jewish Doubt in the Digital Age.” Fader, an anthropology professor at Fordham University, will give her talk Nov. 16 at noon. It will be $10, or $8 for members. “Back to the Future” star and Parkinson’s disease activist Michael J. Fox will talk

Page 25 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

Professors and celebs at Commonpoint online

Suzanne Nossel, left, will discuss free speech, cancel culture and censorship during an online talk at Commonpoint Queens. Fordham professor Ayala Fader will examine Jewish people who secretly explore the outside world while remaining in their ultraCOMMONPOINT QUEENS PHOTOS Orthodox communities. about his book “No Time Like the Future: An Optimist Considers Mortality.” Two previous bestselling memoirs dealt with how he came to terms with his illness while still exhibiting optimistm. The new book by the Golden Globe and Emmy winner reassesses this outlook as events in the past decade presented additional challenges.

Appearing in partnership with the Atlanta JCC Book Festival, Fox will speak Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. The cost is $36 for a virtual ticket and one copy of the book. To register for Nossel, Medoff and Fader visit commonpointqueens.org/register. For Lunden and Fox’s talks, go to Showc Q lix.com and search for the events.

A well of good will for a site left to nature at last

Crossword Answers

Director David Chuchuca puts it. The 90 -minute community tours are conducted by Chuchuca, a microbiologist who mixes local history with talk on how urban landscapes work given half a chance. The tours are free NYC H2O Assistant Director David Chuchuca, left, points out some of the sights at the Ridgewood Reservoir and booked on a from the bottom of a steep embankment. Birding is one activity tour takers enjoy. On the cover: Chuchuca f i r s t- c o m e - f i r s t- leads a group around the protected natural site in Highland Park last Saturday. PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SHAIN served basis through the organization’s website, nych2o.org. They walkway down paths that were closed off Museum for a show that opened last sumare limited to two groups of 10 people, a years ago to the general public and are only mer and runs through Jan. 17. The school tours are on hold for the foreprotocol adopted since the pandemic, and now are being cleared by volunteers. “The site is large, 50 acres,” said Malina. seeable future, said Malina. But the group both this past weekend were sold out. The next date is not yet determined but will be “It’s more than the Parks Department can has turned to community tours and its edureally handle. So they’ve asked us to help cation program to keep its mission alive. posted on the website when it is. If all goes right, said Malina, the reserA wide walkway skirts the perimeter of with some little projects.” NYC H2O is hosting a volunteer landscap- voir’s future will be modeled on Alley Pond the reservoir. On weekends at least, it is shared by a steady crush of runners and bike ing event at the reservoir on Nov. 1, as well Park, with its network of well-maintained riders who can traverse the mile-and-a-half as a cleanup of Baisley Pond Park in South trails, a visitors’ environmental center and circuit uninterrupted by red lights or cross Jamaica on Nov. 14. The group also put year-round teaching programs. “It’s a goal of ours,” he said. “But it’s not together an exhibition of photos and artitraffic. Q Chuchuca guides the tour off the main facts about the reservoir at the Queens yet decided.”

For the latest news visit qchron.com

continued from page 23 spigot at the turn of the last century under pressure from local farmers and fisherman, the reservoir was slowly phased out of the city’s water system. Finally, in the 1980s, it was decommissioned and drained. Flash forward 35 years and the reservoir now represents one of the largest unspoiled natural landscapes in the city, an outdoor laboratory for “what happens when you just get out of the way,” as NYC H2O Assistant

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Notice of Formation of LAVALATA, LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/05/2020. Office 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: RYAN KWON, 2728 THOMSON AVE. #804, LONG ISLAND CITY, NY 11101. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

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 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718722-3131. The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Legal Notices

Notice of Formation of 6507 COOPER REALTY, LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/22/2020. Office 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: 6507 COOPER REALTY, LLC, 2562 HYLAN BLVD. #61657, STATEN ISLAND, NY 10306. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Frantino, LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/24/2020. Office 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: PICERNO & ASSOCIATES, PLLC, 3640 MAIN STREET, STE 508, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Neat Home Organizer LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/21/2020. Office 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: NEAT HOME ORGANIZER LLC, 151-14 19TH AVENUE, WHITESTONE, NY 11357. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of AGS Business Partners LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/30/2020. Office 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: AGS BUSINESS PARTNERS LLC, 8409 118TH STREET, KEW GARDENS, NY 11415. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Qualification of GracieLou L.L.C. Fictitious Name in NY State: GracieLou LS L.LC. App. for Auth. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 10/8/20. Office location: Queens County. LLC formed in Delaware (DE) on 10/1/20. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: 2608 185th St., Redondo Beach, CA 90278. DE address of LLC: 850 New Burton Rd, Ste 201, Dover, DE 19904. Arts. of Org. filed with DE Secy of State, 401 Federal St, Dover, DE 19901. Purpose: any lawful activity.

Notice of formation of North America Adult Day Care LLC Articles of organization filed with the Secretary of State of N.Y. (SSNY) on 9/1/2020. Office location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to Wei, Qing Yan, 132-18 41 ROAD, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: Any lawful activity.

Notice of Formation of CASELLA FUNERAL SERVICE LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/23/2020. Office 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 LLC, 494 SENECA AVE., RIDGEWOOD, NY 11385. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of KE REALTY INTERNATIONAL LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 08/07/2020. Office 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: WEI ZHU, 35-23 FARRINGTON STREET, 2ND FLOOR, FLUSHING, NY 11354. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NURIDE GGR, LLC Articles of Org. filed NY Sec. of State (SSNY) 10/5/2020. Office in Queens Co. SSNY desig. agent of LLC whom process may be served. SSNY shall mail process to 33-24 Northern Blvd., 5th Fl., Long Island City, NY 11101, which is also the principal business location. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Shevrin & Shevrin PERSONAL INJURY ATTORNEYS AT LAW Handling all types of accident cases with a combined 70 years of experience. We are dedicated to the protection and recovery of your rights. Howard & Mark Shevrin, Esq. 123-60 83rd Ave., Suite 2R, Kew Gardens

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Real Estate Misc.

ESTATE SALE - LOG HOMES PAY THE BALANCE OWED ONLY!!!

AMERICAN LOG HOMES IS ASSISTING JUST RELEASED OF ESTATE & ACCOUNT SETTLEMENT ON HOUSES.

4 Log Home kits selling for BALANCE OWED, FREE DELIVERY 1) Model # 101 Carolina 2) Model # 203 Georgia 3) Model # 305 Biloxi 4) Model # 403 Augusta

$40,840…BALANCE OWED $17,000 $49,500...BALANCE OWED $19,950 $36,825...BALANCE OWED $14,500 $42,450...BALANCE OWED $16,500

BEFORE CALLING: VIEW at www.loghomedream.com Click on House Plans

NEW - HOMES HAVE NOT BEEN MANUFACTURED

Apts. For Rent Howard Beach/Lindenwood, 3 BR 1 1/2 baths. Leave a message. By owner. 917-855-7390.

Co-ops For Sale Howard Beach, Hi-rise, 2 BR, 2 baths. Asking $299K Howard Beach, mint AAA 3 BR, 1 bath converted to 2 BR, 1st fl Garden Co-op, all new electric, new bath, new insulated walls, freshly painted, sec system, LG W/D. Comes completely furnished, Move-In. Asking $379K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

Condos For Sale

750 W Broadway Unit 5R Long Beach Realty Connect USA Stunning Oceanfront Duplex Penthouse 2 Bedrooms, 3 Baths. Beautiful Ocean Views! Master Suite includes Sitting Area, Office Space and Custom Master Bathroom. Terrace, Heated Salt Water Pool, Heated Garage w/1 Parking Space, Gym and so much more! $1,395,000

Listing Agent Grace Connors 516-880-3428 Co-Listing Agent Kathy Weitzman 516-439-8411

Houses For Sale Middle Village, Mint det Colonial, pvt dvwy, 2 car gar, 3 BR, 2 full baths, completely renov thruout within 7 yrs. HW fls upstairs, lg LR, lg FDR, lg kit w/cherry cabinets, SS appl, island, beautiful. Asking $968K. Connexion RE, 718-845-1136

SERIOUS ONLY REPLY. Call (704) 602-3035 ask for Accounting Dept.

Open House Ridgewood, Thur 10/29, 5:30pm-7pm, 1678 Norman St, Unit 1B. Prime location 2 BR 1 bath condo. New fls, renov kit & bath. Open LR/DR layout. Monthly common charge $497.14 incls heat & hot water. Taxes are approx $3,676 annually w/o abatement. Andrea of C21 Amiable II, 718-835-4700

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

Legal Notices

NOTICE Highland Care Center located at 91-31 175th Street, Jamaica, NY 11432, a participant in the Medicare and Medicaid programs does not discriminate in its policies regarding admissions, employment or the provision of services because of race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, handicap, source of payment, religion, sex, marital status, sexual orientation, or age.

Notice of Formation of 19525 Woodhull Avenue LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/13/2020. Office 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: BENIDA ALEXANDER-STOKES, 18 MISTAIRE PLACE, HOWELL, NJ 07731. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of 5765 59TH STREET LLC Arts. of Org. filed with Secy. of State of NY (SSNY) on 09/21/20. Office location: Queens County. Princ. office of LLC: 57-65 59th St., Maspeth, NY 11378. SSNY designated as agent of LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to David B. Friedrich, c/o 240 W. 52nd St, NY, NY 10019. Purpose: To hold real estate.

Comm. Space For Rent Howard Beach, Cross Bay Blvd., 2nd fl., 350 sq. ft., $1,500/mo., plus heat & electric, all new tiles, new bathroom. Also in same bldg, 2nd fl, 850 sq. ft., all new tiles, new bathroom, $2,400/mo., plus heat & electric. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Real Estate Misc. Looking for Licensed Real Estate Agents. Career Seminar Fri 11/6 from 11:30am-2:30pm. Email for a Zoom link. info@CapriJetRealty.com

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Legal Notices

Notice of Formation of Luxurious Stylez, LLC Articles of Organization were filed with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/08/2020. Office 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: CHANTZ EVARISTE, 120-38 238TH STREET, CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, NY 11411. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Real Estate Misc.

Page 29 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

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Man killed, dumped pregnant woman: NYPD

34th Avenue Open Street

by Katherine Donlevy Associate Editor

Police have arrested the man they believe was responsible for killing a pregnant young woman and dumping her pajama-clad body next to the Long Island Expressway early Friday morning. The NYPD charged Goey Charles of Uniondale, LI, with second-degree murder just past 6 p.m. Oct. 26, more than three full days after officers found Vanessa Pierre of Hempstead’s body in Bayside Hills. She was discovered at 6 a.m. Oct. 23 lying face down and unconscious on the ground in front of 216-13 Horace Harding Pkwy. EMS pronounced her dead at the scene. In a tweet Tuesday morning, NYPD Chief Rodney Harrison released surveillance footage of Charles dragging Pierre’s body out of an SUV and into a bush on the side of the roadway. “Vanessa Pierre and her unborn baby were found deceased laying facedown on the sidewalk off of Horace Harding Expressway,” Harrison revealed. The Daily News reported that the 29-year-old victim was a nurse practitio-

Goey Charles was arrested for allegedly murdering a pregnant woman and leaving her body on the side of the road. NYPD PHOTO ner, and that she was found with a sweatshirt wrapped around her neck with bruising that suggests she may have been strangled, but the NYPD would not confirm any details. A police spokesperson said that, at the time of her discovery, there were no obvious signs of trauma observed, but there is no additional public information. The cause of death is being determined by the Medical Examiner’s Office, and the Q police investigation remains ongoing.

continued from page 21 The plan received the backing of a number of elected officials who spoke, including state Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-East Elmhurst), Assemblywoman Catalina Cruz (D-Corona) and Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) as well as visiting Councilmembers Carlina Rivera (D-Manhattan) and Brad Lander (D-Brooklyn). Cruz at one point was asked to adjust the megaphone she was using. “The first time in my life I’ve been told I’m not loud enough,” Cruz remarked. Lander said Brooklyn residents are jealous of the 34th Avenue push. Dromm said he will insist on extensive community input as plans are drafted by the city. A DOT spokesman, in an email on Monday, said that is already in the works. “DOT had been doing detailed planning for 34th Avenue even before the COVID pandemic, including through upgrades to the existing bike lanes and new designs to improve pedestrian safety on this distinctive street,” the spokesman said. “The 34th Avenue Open Street will not end on October 31st,” he continued. “We are thrilled at the reception that it has received these last few months, and we look forward to working closely with community groups, elected officials, local schools and advocates on the best plan for the street’s long-term transformation.” Whether the agency intends changes

east of Junction Boulevard is not clear. The DOT said its experts “look forward to continuing a robust, detailed and inclusive discussion among stakeholders” at Community Board 3’s Transportation Committee meeting that was set for Wednesday evening on Oct. 28. Residents didn’t even have to be attending the rally to voice their support of making the change permanent, and extending it into Corona. “I think it’s a good idea,” said Nathaniel Daniels of Corona, who was walking along 34th shortly before the rally organizers began setting up. “My child and my grandchild come here every day.” So does Barbara McCarthy of Jackson Heights with her dog, Sammy, the latter considering himself the street’s unofficial greeter and ambassador. She too liked the coalition’s idea. “The children are playing,” McCarthy said. “They have Zumba lessons. There have been English as second language classes on the block. Seniors play bingo.” As for residents’ desire for an extension to 114th Street — which would run right out to the Grand Central Parkway — little infor mation was available. Drom m declined to comment, and messages left with the office of Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Corona) were not returned. The DOT did not address the issue in Q response to a follow-up email.

Located in WILLIAMSBURG, Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhood. We have Qualified International Buyers

• OPEN HOUSE • Fri., Oct. 30th 5:30-7 pm

• OPEN HOUSE (by Appt.) • Sat., Oct. 31st 3:30-5 pm Sun., Nov. 1st 4-5 pm

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• OPEN HOUSE • Sun., Nov. 1st 12-2 pm

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CAPJ-077524

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The new normal - Let’s keep it safe. Call today to schedule a Zoom (video conference) meeting to discuss the sale of your home!

63-23 60th Pl., Ridgewood Brick 2 Family w/2 Car Garage! $1,150,000

97-06 161st Ave., Howard Beach Luxurious New Construction House w/Pool on a 60x100 lot! $1,375,000

Thinking of Selling? List with Us! Call today for a FREE over the phone CMA (Comparative Market Analysis)

O: 347-450-3577 533 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211

info@CapriJetRealty.com www.CapriJetRealty.com

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BEAT

CENTURY 21 AMIABLE II 82-17 153 RD Ave., Suite 202, Howard Beach, NY 11414

The Captain by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

Former Mets third baseman David Wright will be the first to admit that when one thinks of “The Captain” in New York baseball circles, it is Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter who comes to mind. Nonetheless, Wright was a great player and served as the Mets’ team captain from 2013 through the end of his career in 2018. That is why he shouldn’t feel guilty titling his autobiography “The Captain” (Dutton). Last week I spoke with Anthony DiComo, who served as Wright’s co-author and is wellknown to Mets fans as the team’s MLB.com beat reporter. DiComo admitted Wright was surprised to get the go-ahead from Penguin Random House, which owns Dutton Books, because there is no dirt to be dished here. That’s not to say Wright doesn’t provide any behind-the-scenes stuff. He praises utility player Joe McEwing for being a mentor when he came up to the Mets in 2004 and to outfielder Cliff Floyd for buying him suits and instructing him on how to conduct himself as a big leaguer. The closest thing to qualify as controversy during Wright’s tenure as captain was during spring training 2015 when he chastised thenrookie pitcher Noah Syndergaard for eating lunch in the clubhouse while an intra-squad game was in progress. Wright saw these games as a valuable way for a rookie to learn and still

has no regrets about his intent. He was mortified to learn that his lecture to Syndergaard was seen by some media members. He quickly apologized to Syndergaard for not having been more aware about their lack of privacy. A key reason why Wright is so beloved by fans was his desire to spend his entire career in Flushing. He acknowledges he was worried he would be traded after his infield neighbor, shortstop Jose Reyes, left in 2011 as a free agent without receiving a contract offer. Wright did get the deal he was looking for in 2013. DiComo believes Wright could have been successful in endeavors outside of baseball. A case in point is how he accepted an equity interest in a startup beverage company, Whitestonebased Glaceau, which was founded by Middle Village native Mike Repole, in exchange for being its spokesman. Wright made a fortune when Coca-Cola purchased Glaceau. The last chapters of “The Captain” are not easy reading as Wright and DiComo provide painstaking details of the many back and neck surgeries and post-surgical rehab work he had to endure to try to get back on the field. It was in 2018 when the ever-optimistic Mets captain realized he couldn’t overcome these maladies. “The Captain” is a must read for both Mets Q fans and future orthopedic surgeons. See the extended version of Sports Beat every week at qchron.com.

Connexion REAL ESTATE

Get Your House SOLD!

161-14A Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach (Brother’s Shopping Ctr.)

ARLENE PACCHIANO Broker/Owner

718-845-1136 FREE MARKET EVALUATION

CONNEXIONREALESTATE.COM OZONE PARK

Reduced $798K Owner Mortgage

OZONE PARK CL

D OS E

HOWARD BEACH

69-39 Myrtle Ave., Glendale, NY 11385

718-628-4700 OPEN HOUSE • Andrea of Amiable II Thurs., 10/29 • 5:30-7pm • 1678 Norman St., 1B

• Ridgewood •

• Lindenwood •

Prime location 2 BR 1 bath condo in Ridgewood. This well maintained home has had many recent updates. New flooring throughout the whole unit. The kit & bath were renovated less than 2 years ago. The kit features stainless steel appliances, granite countertops & lovely cabinets. The bath was fully reno as well including new vanity, tub; medicine cabinet & tiles. The home has an open living / Dining room layout; a hallway leading to storage closets & two large BRs. New French doors from master BR to outdoor yard space. Monthly common charge is $497.14 includes heat and hot water. Owner pays cooking gas & electricity. Taxes are approx. $3,676 annually (w/o any abatement’s). Wait there’s more... Pet friendly building; First fl r; stackable washer & dryer included & allowed in unit; it comes with an assigned parking space; just down the block from “L” train (Halsey St. Station); & easy accessibility between Buswhick & Queens.

Renovated 2 BR 1 bath Co-op in courtyard on the second fl r. This home is turn key - Large living room & formal dining room for gatherings. Kitchen features quartz countertops; soft close kitchen drawers; samsung appliances and counter island. Overhead lighting has been installed in all the rooms; crown molding; and stackable washer/dryer in the unit. This home has been well maintained and as a bonus, it’s Pet friendly! Monthly Maintenance includes heat, hot water, cooking gas, electric, real estate taxes and cable. Base maintenance is $748.77; $50.00 cable; $12.00 washing machine; $12.00 dryer total: $822.77 per month. Ideally located near a shopping center, public transportation, express bus to Midtown, airport & major highways. Short list for outdoor parking space. Flip tax is $30.00 per share / 275 shares

• Brooklyn •

• Lindenwood • Lovely legal 2 family home with full fi nished basement. Near all shopping, transportation to Manhattan, Must see, lots of updates!

Welcome to this unique & beautiful 2 fam. home with a fi n. bsmnt, a spacious backyard & central A/C. This recently-renovated property was updated with top-of-the-line fi xtures & fi nishes. The 2nd apt has a custom kit. made from recycled wood imported from France. The Mediterranean bathroom is breathtaking, with spa fixtures such as a rain shower, Jacuzzi, jet massage & heated floor. The apt has beautiful wood fl rs, new noise reducing windows and a charming terrace. The 1st apt is a true gem with unique moldings, French doors, beautiful wood fl rs, an updated kit., patio & stunning bathroom. The bsmnt is fully renovated with marble fl rs, large mirrors throughout & exposed brick. The bohemian style backyard, accessible from either apt, is perfect for a private relaxation session yet spacious enough to entertain family & friends. The property boasts parking & is conveniently located right on the border of Greenpoint & Williamsburg.

HOWARD BEACH/ROCKWOOD PARK Pristine/Stucco unique contemporary Colonial, 3/4 BRs, 3 full baths, 2 half baths, open floor concept on first floor & winding S.S staircase to second floor master bedroom en suite w/ Jacuzzi and bidet, 2 other BRs & full bath, fin. bsmnt, storage rm. den, ping, pong rm or 4th BR, fences front & backyard has I.G. saltwater heated pool, Jacuzzi (seats 8) Cabana, full bath, storage rm, S.S. gates, Asking $1.298 Mil 2nd flr balcony granite & awning.

HOWARD BEACH

HOWARD BEACH/ROCKWOOD PARK Mint Hi-Ranch on 40x100 lot, 4 BRs/3 full baths, Vinyl siding with brick front, Andersen windows, HiHats, tiled floors, new carpeting in BRs, security cameras, alarm system, freshly painted, mechanics all updated, heated spa & in-ground pool, brick patio, CAC, rollout awning Asking $889K

OZONE PARK

MIDDLE VILLAGE

Det. 1 Family, 3 BRs, 2 baths, basement, pty driveway and 1 car garage

Mint Detached Colonial, pvt dvwy & 2 car garage, 3 BRs, 2 full baths, completely renovated throughout within 7 years, windows, roof, gas boiler, hotwater heater, stoop, wood doors, porcelain tiles on 1st flr, hardwood flrs upstairs, lg living rm, lg formal dining rm. lg kitchen with cherry cabinets, S.S. appl, island, Beautiful.

Hi-Rise, 2 BR, 2 Baths

Asking $229K Mint AAA 3 BR, 1 Bath Converted to 2 BR, 1st Floor Garden Co-op,

Asking $379K

HOWARD BEACH

Mint Waterfront property with views of the bridge, all redone inside, new bulkhead, new double docks, beautiful kit with S.S. appl., open flr plan, vaulted ceilings, 2 BR converted to one lg master with wall to wall closets, lg new bath with state-of-the-art huge shower, new electric & plumbing.

$610K

Asking $825K

RICHMOND HILL

COMMERCIAL SPACE FOR RENT Howard Beach /Cross Bay Blvd. 2nd floor 350 sq. ft. $1,500 per mo. Plus heat & electric, all new tiles, new bathroom, - Also same building 2nd floor 850 sq. ft. All new tiles, new bathroom, $2,400 per mo. Plus heat & electric.

• Lindenwood • Welcome home to this spacious Co-op in Howard Beach. This move in ready unit features 1000 square feet of living space with a modern kitchen that includes custom Thomasville cabinets, stainless steel appliances & granite counters. There are 2 large bedrooms, 2 full renovated baths and spacious closets for lots of storage. There’s also an extra large terrace, perfect for relaxing in your own private space. Conveniently located near shopping, stores, schools, highways, Q41, Q21 & express bus to Midtown Manhattan. Maint. includes heat, water, gas and taxes. Electric & cable separate.

CO-OPS FOR SALE

Wood Cabinets with Island, Granite Counter, Stainlesss Steel Appliances, Hi-Hats, All New Electric, New Bath, New Insulated Walls, ceilings & Wood Flrs, Crown Moldings, Freshly Painted, Sec System, LG Washer & Gas Dryer, Comes Completely Furnished, Move-In

• Lindenwood • Welcome home to 84-20 153rd Avenue. Desirable Co-op in Pembroke Square. Graciously sized studio converted to a small 1 bedroom for added privacy. Enter you home fi lled with light and fresh air. Great flow from bedroom into a dressing area and fantastic closet space

HOWARD BEACH IN C

1 Fam Colonial 3 BR/ 2 full bath, 20x100 lot, 9 ft ceilings, skylight in bath, tall kitchen wood cabs, basement inc LG storage room, LG patio off kit w/entry. Asking $588K

T! R AC O NT

Colonial 3 BR, 1 Bath, needs updating, pvt. dvwy, 1 car garage, 30x100 lot, $619K 3 floors.

Asking $968K

FREE Market Evaluation E 718-845-1136 7 Call us for an interview! Together we can make it happen!

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Commercial Building (101st Ave.) 2 blocks off Cross Bay Blvd./25x100 lot, 25x46 building/ 2nd flr., Dental Office $2,200 per mo./ 1st floor gutted to studs & vacant / basement clean with new furnace / zoning R6B / building K2

718-835-4700

Page 31 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, October 29, 2020

SPORTS

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