Queens Chronicle South Edition 12-15-22

PHOTO COURTESY HOWARD BEACH LINDENWOOD CIVIC ASSOCIATION

Fair Chance debate heats up at hearing

Adams says no ‘blanket support’ of bill that some

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Afive-hour hearing on the controversial Fair Chance for Housing Act in the City Council last week provided a chance to air opinions on the bill that would ban tenant background checks in many cases, and led to a racist rant on the floor, which drew even more attention as many later came out to denounce it.

“I know that this is a spicy bill, as I’ve been calling it, but I hope we all can execute our opinions and our testimonies in a manner that is respectful,” Councilwoman Nantasha Williams (D-St. Albans) said at the start.

Williams, a co-sponsor of Intro 632, chairs the Committee on Civil and Human Rights, in which the legislation was introduced.

“In New York, 2.3 million people have a criminal record of some kind and approximately 750,000 New York City residents have a criminal conviction,” said Williams, adding that housing discrimination based on past records is a “barrier to reintegration” and can lead to a cycle of criminality.

She continued, “We also understand people need to feel safe in their homes,” and said the bill balances those needs by establishing exceptions for violent acts and sex offenders.

Several of her Queens colleagues disagreed.

“[The Department of Education] has regula-

tions that prohibit anyone with a felony from working in a school, so why would the same city then force property owners to have felons live in the same building with children?” said Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth).

The bill would not apply to two-family, owner-occupied housing or rooms in owner-occupied housing, but Holden said many of the homes in his district are three-family and that the bill would keep landlords from determining if a person might be a risk. He suggested the city instead build more transitional housing.

“On the surface, Intro 632 sounds like a great idea,” said Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park). “However, as it’s currently written, it is unrealistic and puts landlords and tenants at risk, unilaterally prohibiting landlords from looking into criminal backgrounds of potential tenants opens the door to tragedy.”

Councilwoman Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone) described the bill as “lopsided” and called for it to be revisited and rewritten.

Councilman Shekar Krishnan (D-Jackson Heights) echoed prior support of the bill, saying that the current housing crisis is not going to be solved by making it more difficult for people to find homes and that, “People in homes equal safer communities.”

Melissa Gomez, a realtor in Queens Village and a member of the New York State Association of Realtors, said she feels it “falls short in addressing the root of the problem” and drew on her experience as a minority.

“Racism is very much alive and well and my fear is that people will use this as a reason ... to why they will deny housing and we’re actually going to create a bigger problem of housing access for people,” she said.

Issues of race were front and center after Asian Wave Alliance President Yiatin Chu and community leader Susan Lee testified.

Douglas Powell, who spent years in prison reportedly on sex offense charges, testified on behalf of the social services organization Voices of Community Activists & Leaders NY, say-

to revisit

ing, “I live in Rego Park now. That’s the most racist neighborhood I’ve ever been in, and it’s nothing but Asians in there.”

Powell continued, uninterrupted, “They don’t want Black people living in Black people neighborhoods. Because it’s not their neighborhood, because they’re from China, they’re from Hong Kong. We’re from New York.”

Holden later tweeted that he hopes VOCALNY “cuts ties with someone who espouses such racist hate speech.”

Councilwoman Sandra Ung (D-Flushing) issued a statement calling the testimony “vile, offensive and racially divisive,” and called for an “unequivocal apology” from the group.

The Asian Wave Alliance went so far as to call for Williams to step down as chair of the committee for not stopping the “tirade.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Adams previously did not say whether he supports the bill, but in an address last week on the affordable housing crisis, Adams said he supports it “in concept” but is “concerned about public safety.”

“No one should be denied housing based on their records, but I want to make sure residents in apartments and buildings and rentals in the small units, that they get the protection that they deserve. I’m a big supporter of having a look back period to allow a person to clean their record ... But I am just not in blanket support of it,” he said.

are calling

Councilwoman Nantasha Williams

PHOTO BY JOHN MCCARTEN / MAYOR’S OFFICE

Six Queens schools set to be ‘magnets’

Three districts chosen as part of competitive national grant program

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Three Queens school districts have been chosen to receive grant money from the federally funded Magnet Schools Assistance Program, which will award nearly $15 million to districts over the course of five years.

“It brings tremendous value and resources into our district and allows us to think way outside the box,” said District 28 Superintendent Tammy Pate.

The district applied together with District 29 for PS 182, PS 312, MS 72 and MS 332 and PS 135, the latter of which is in D29, to be named magnet schools. In District 27, MS 64 entered as part of an application with neighboring Brooklyn District 19. They received the news last month.

The U.S. Department of Education’s magnet programs aim to “develop and revitalize magnet schools with academically challenging and innovative instructional approaches designed to bring together students from different social, economic, ethnic, and racial backgrounds” and include professional development.

Academic experiences are enriched by school trips, additional supplies, partnerships and arts-in-residency programs, according to the city magnet school’s website.

The $15 million gets distributed proportionately to the schools included in the

Six Queens schools were chosen to receive federal grant money. FILE PHOTO

applications based on their size but there is not much discrepancy, explained Pate.

For her district’s part in the application, it was a group effort, she said. During principal conferences, they explored themes and drafted proposals. Support came from Brendan Mims, who is now a superintendent in Brooklyn but was named a magnet school principal when he was at MS 358 in Jamaica Hills, and from Principal Tanya Bates Howell of PS 349, also in Jamaica Hills, a previous magnet grantee.

The schools develop a theme to base programming around, including in STEM, career development, leadership skills and

language immersion.

In District 28 and 29’s application, it states the following themes: Discovery and Applied Learning for PS 182; Innovative Leadership and Civic Activism for PS 312; Multimedia and Performing Arts for MS 72; Leadership and Exploration for MS 332 and Exploration through the Arts for PS 135.

“It really is a gift — money that you don’t have to take from your core budget and that enhances learning and making learning fun, making learning engaging,” said District 29 Superintendent Crystal Bonds.

The magnet program at PS 64 in Ozone Park will be centered around leadership and social justice activism.

“It is really focusing on instruction and investing in teacher training to prepare students to be social justice activists,” said Superintendent David Norment.

“There will be an activism lab where students learn all the nuances of preparing to be activists for their community. Whether it’s through technology, production, skills, strategies to participate and support their community, the idea is young leaders making a change in their community and designing an interdisciplinary approach,” said Norment.

Norment was a principal at PS 140 in Jamaica and received magnet funding for the school back then.

“It really allowed us some flexibility with

that additional funding and allowed us to provide some opportunities for students to engage in learning that they may not have received if they if we didn’t have those resources,” he said.

Part of the program, he said, includes having a magnet coordinator within the school and having professional development support for teachers.

“We’re looking forward to next steps, looking forward to partnering with the community, looking forward to student outcomes and student achievement and the performances and the academics, everything,” said Bonds.

“I’m looking forward to hearing from the students about how the programs impacted their learning.”

Funds are expected to hit school budgets soon, said Pate, so that they can begin to make hiring and program development decisions.

And the funds serve a larger purpose for the schools, she said.

“This is also a part of our enrollment strategy in this district. When I came aboard, across the City of New York, we’ve seen a decrease in enrollment. It has not been as bad in District 28 but I believe that if we have strong schools, our families will stay with us, stay within our district, and stay within the New York City Department of Education.”

Legal battle in AD 23 race continues

Appellate court also rules to count absentee ballots as others loom

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

An appellate court on Tuesday upheld a lower court ruling to count 94 absentee ballots that were mailed in incorrectly in the race for Assembly District 23.

The decision is the latest in the saga between incumbent Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) and Republican challenger Tom Sullivan.

“We are grateful to the courts for once again agreeing that these are votes from valid voters,” said Matthew Rey, a campaign spokesperson for Pheffer Amato from political consulting firm Red Horse Strategies, in a prepared statement.

“These voices will now be heard, and the fact that their votes can now be cured and

counted is an important step forward,” he continued.

At the crux of the lawsuit are 94 ballots that were invalidated by the city Board of Elections for not being mailed in the proper envelope that must be sealed and inserted into a larger one.

Without the 94 ballots being counted yet, the race has Pheffer Amato ahead of Sullivan by one single vote, following a hand recount.

A judge ruled last week that the 94 absentee voters should have been given the opportunity to “cure” their ballots.

The statement issued by Pheffer Amato’s campaign team also states that, in addition to the 94 ballots, there are up to six affidavit ballots “pending opening by the Board,” and an additional 13 votes that were rejected by the board and are

also being challenged in court.

“Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato continues the fight to have every vote counted,” it stated.

Sullivan issued a statement on social media, stating, “Stacey Pheffer Amato is engaged in the same hard ball legal tactics and smoke screens that has lead to both Democrats and Republicans being disgusted with the electoral process.”

He continued, “In the appellate case, Stacey Pheffer Amato is suing to admit invalid mail in ballots because she perceives them to work in her favor. In YET ANOTHER separate case to be heard this Thursday, she is suing to readmit additional ballots that were disqualified in the bipartisan hand recount.”

He wrote that he objects to the “perpetual lawsuits.” Q

The race for Assembly District 23 has come to one vote, with Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, right, just ahead of Tom Sullivan as some contested votes remain.

PHOTOS BY MATT WATERS, LEFT, AND MICHAEL SHAIN / FILE

Civics spread cheer

A caravan of Christmas cheer rolled through Howard Beach and Lindenwood on Sunday, picking up hundreds of toys to deliver to the NYPD 106th Precinct’s toy drive. The third annual event was hosted by the Howard Beach Lindenwood and New Hamilton Beach civic associations.

The route looped through Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach and Lindenwood, escorted by the

At top center, Roger and Holly Gendron, the Clauses, are seen with officers from the 106.

At right, Councilwoman Joann Ariola, left, and state Sen. Roxanne Persaud spread the cheer alongside HBL Civic Co-presidents Barbara McNamara, right, and Phyllis Inserillo, who moonlights as Minnie Mouse. — Deirdre Bardolf

Council approves bill to make instructions easier to understand Ranked-choice voting to be made simpler

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

The confusing at times ranked-choice voting process is poised to become easier for voters to comprehend.

The City Council passed a bill last Wednesday that aims to simplify instructions on ranked-choice ballots.

Should Mayor Adams sign the legislation into law, voters will see changes to the ballot when they head to the polls in June for the city’s primary elections.

Councilmember Sandra Ung (D-Flushing), the bill’s primary sponsor and chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations, praised the Council’s approval of the changes, which she described as “commonsense” ones.

“New Yorkers pulled off the largest Ranked Choice Voting election in the history of the U.S. when they went to the polls in last year’s June primary,” she said in a statement.

“This new law will simplify the ballot and make it easier to understand, encouraging all voters, especially those with limited English proficiency, to take advantage of the opportunity to rank their preferred candidates and strengthen the democratic process.”

The parameters laid out in the bill aim to

are

cut down on the verbiage of ballot instructions seen in previous ranked-choice elections.

Specifically, it says that the Board of Elections must include more illustrations to convey how to correctly fill out the ballot at the top. The bill also stipulates that the BOE include drawings of incorrectly marked ballots, showing one that ranks two candidates

as the same choice and another that ranks a candidate twice.

During the Governmental Operations Committee hearing on the bill, the BOE provided a sample of what the ballot might look like under those parameters, as seen above. A spokesperson for Ung was careful to note, however, that that may not be the final product. Rather, it serves as a model

for how a compliant ballot could look.

To make instructions more comprehensible for voters whose primary language is not English, the legislation requires that instructions in other languages be arranged on the ballot so that they are easy to compare with the English directions.

On top of that, the bill requires that, above each election included on the ballot, instructions regarding ranking candidates be included, though a drawing is not required there.

The most recent version of the ballot had listed each ranking as “1st choice,” “2nd choice,” and so on. Ung’s bill, however, simplifies that, requiring that columns instead be labeled “1,” “2” and so on.

Common Cause NY was one of the groups in Rank the Vote NYC, which played a crucial role in the implementation of the city’s ranked-choice voting system. Susan Lerner, Common Cause NY’s executive director and board chair of Rank the Vote NYC, said she is thrilled the bill passed, saying it will “make the ballot even more voter friendly.”

“Ranked choice voting affords voters more choice and more voice and puts power back in the hands of the people, delivering consensus majority winners every time,” she added in a statement.

West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department.

PHOTOS COURTESY WHBVFD, LEFT, AND HOWARD BEACH LINDENWOOD CIVIC

Councilmember Sandra Ung’s bill to simplify ranked-choice voting instructions passed last week. At left

past instructions, and at right, a sample of how new ones could look. NYC COUNCIL

Five indicted in SEQ deed theft scheme

Group allegedly stole homes worth more than $1M; three unidentified

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

The game is over for five alleged Southeast Queens home theft conspirators.

The office of state Attorney General Letitia James on Friday announced five indictments in a deed theft ring aimed at elderly and vulnerable homeowners in Jamaica, South Jamaica and St. Albans. The five indicted, along with three unidentified members of the group, all played a specialized role in the ruse, the AG said.

According to James’ office, starting in Sept. 2019, 47-year-old Marcus Wilcher allegedly would identify homes in the Southeast Queens neighborhoods in poor condition with absentee owners. Fifty-one-year-old Stacie Saunders would then market the homes to investors at prices significantly below market rates to ensure quick sales, according to James.

Once an investor displayed interest in purchasing a home, Wilcher allegedly would secure personal information about the real owners, including Social Security numbers and birth dates, to create falsified documents, including Social Security cards and driver’s licenses.

James said Wilcher and Saunders would then find people to impersonate the true property owners at contract signings and closings.

Forty-seven-year-old Anyekache Hercules, who was disbarred and cannot practice law in

New York, allegedly would create forged legal documents using a practicing attorney’s name and email on legal correspondence, and either 61-year-old Dean Lloyd or one of the three unidentified individuals would allegedly appear at closings with forged deeds and contracts.

Sixty-six-year-old Jerry Currin allegedly appeared at the closing on his family home with a person pretending to be his sister, the executor of his family’s estate. Currin also submitted a false affidavit in support of a second estate sale for a different stolen property, according to James.

Once sales of the properties were finalized, the group allegedly would use the forged documents to open bank accounts in the names of the homes’ real owners. They would use the accounts along with LLCs and entities they controlled to funnel themselves the profits.

The three homes sold as part of the ring totaled more than $1 million in value. They are located near Long Street and 121st Avenue in South Jamaica, 176th Street and Murdock Avenue in Jamaica and Marsden Street and 119th Avenue in St. Albans.

Saunders, Hercules and Currin were arraigned last Thursday.

The Office of the Attorney General warns

that five members of the ring remain at large: Wilcher, Lloyd and the three unidentified individuals.

Anyone familiar with one or more of the coconspirators at-large is encouraged to contact the OAG’s Public Integrity Bureau confidentially by calling (212) 416-8090 or emailing public.integrity@ag.ny.gov.

“No one should face the nightmare of having their home stolen from them without any

warning, knowledge, or reason,” James said in a statement. “Deed theft is a merciless crime that targets seniors, and often people of color, who are asset rich but cash poor, and reliant on their homes as a stabilizing force for their families and loved ones. My office will continue our work to combat deed theft until we can ensure no other New Yorker is forced to endure this heartbreaking, lifealtering loss.” Q

State Attorney General Letitia James announced five indictments in a Southeast Queens deed theft ring on Friday, but the three individuals above remain unidentified. PHOTOS COURTESY NYS ATTORNEY GENERAL

SEAFOOD

EDITORIAL AGEP

Allow Success Academy two more Queens schools

O

Down at the Springfield Gardens Educational Complex, which houses four high schools, enrollment declined for five years, dropping 23 percent, until this year, when it started rising again. Even so, the school building is operating at 69 percent capacity, with 1,638 students attending instead of the 2,376 who could be learning there.

Now there’s a school eager to occupy some, though not all, of the space that’s available. Another highly effective school that, like Francis Lewis, gets more applicants than it can admit. One that could hit the ground running. That school is Success Academy. But Success means resistance.

The SGEC is one of two buildings in Southeast Queens where Success Academy seeks a co-location. The other is the building housing three schools including MS 72, the Catherine and Count Basie Middle School, in Rochdale Village. Together those three are at 46.5 percent capacity, with

ver at Francis Lewis High School in Fresh Meadows, students learn in a building that houses nearly 4,500 kids and operates at 160 percent capacity. It had been at 200 percent before a new annex with 555 seats opened this year. It’s a top-notch school kids are desperate to get into no matter how crowded the halls are.623 students in a building that could handle 1,340.

Both schools say they don’t have room for Success Academy. Yeah, right. What they don’t have room for is the model of high-grade education Success offers: innovative, dynamic and unencumbered by many of the strictures and, especially, union regulations of traditional city schools.

The results of Success Academy’s approach as the city’s premier charter school system are crystal clear. At Success schools in Southeast Queens, the share of students passing the 2022 English language arts state exams ranged from 65.3 to 84.5 percent. For area district schools, the average numbers were 43.7 to 45.7 percent. In math, Success students passed at rates of 74 to 93 percent. In district schools, the numbers were 29 to 45 percent. Success also offers rich arts programming and more. No wonder its four elementary schools in Queens received 9,644 applications for this school year, when all they could provide were 487 seats. That’s about 20 children applying for every single spot.

Meanwhile enrollment in Districts 27, 28 and 29, those serving Southeast Queens, dropped by 10,049 students, or 8.7 percent, from the 2017-18 academic year to 2021-22. Families are doing all they can to get their children into

charters, or parochial schools — or maybe just to move.

Yet the administrations at the SGEC and Basie campuses don’t want Success moving in. Co-location would harm their programs, they say without evidence. There’s no room, they claim, despite being under capacity. And, they say, it’s not good to co-locate an elementary school into a middle school or high school, which is what Success is looking to do. We agree that students of such differing ages should not be mixing at school but are confident that problem can be avoided with logistical and structural measures, as elsewhere.

The fact is Success Academy has been exactly what its name says it is. It’s a great vehicle for kids who come from tough neighborhoods but have a drive to learn. Critics point to all kinds of supposed flaws, from its selectivity to the fact its leadership gets paid, but they’re all exaggerated. Plenty of traditional city schools also are selective, and plenty of Department of Education employees are well-paid. Chancellor David Banks makes more than $360,000.

Hearings on the co-locations will be held Dec. 19 and 20, with the Panel for Educational Policy voting Jan. 5. We hope for a yes on both, so that more children can benefit from what Success Academy charter schools have to offer.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

Landlords in a bind

won’t be able to discriminate if the tenant has a record or former arrests.

Published

every week

Dear Editor:

Things have changed dramatically for landlords and sales agents these days.

Whether landlords advertise on their own or through a real estate broker/sales person, the changes are big nails in the coffin for renting an apartment for sure.

Example: You have a one-bedroom to rent, and let’s say the landlord tells you, “I want one person who works because I don’t want a lot of noise.” Put the apartment on MLS and you will get in one week 10 to 20 phone calls with people saying, “I make $1,600 (or $1,800) per month but I have a voucher. Oh, and I have a son or a daughter who will live with me.” Or “I have a large support dog.”

Guess what? You can’t say, “I will not show you,” or “Forget it, you can’t see it.” Now the laws and the tenants are changing the entire industry. And furthermore, get ready to hear “I will report you.”

There is no simple solution but landlords need to know what can happen if they refuse people with vouchers, children and emotional stress dogs. An attorney should have a neighborhood meeting with landlords to further stress the laws about renting now.

James Turano Middle Village

All BQE lanes are vital

Dear Editor:

Regarding Mayor Adams’ announcement of preliminary design concepts for a re-envisioned Brooklyn-Queens Expressway Central, the Trucking Association of New York is pleased to see the BQE return to three lanes of traffic. With over 17,000 daily truck trips, the BQE is an essential freight corridor for the region,

facilitating commerce and providing the ontime delivery of vital goods and services. Reducing the BQE to two lanes created unsustainable congestion that delayed goods movement, jeopardized drivers’ hours of service and had the unintended consequence of moving trucks off the BQE and onto local streets thereby increasing both emissions and possibilities of encounters with vulnerable road users.

At TANY, the sole New York affiliate of the American Trucking Associations, representing over 580 member companies, we are excited about new possibilities in last-mile freight distribution and are thankful the administration has expedited the repair timeline. Currently, the safest and most efficient movement is through a functioning BQE.

Zach Miller

Metro-Region Operations Manager

Jim Berkoff, Beverly Espinoza Account

Yes, fines will be issued because you have no say any longer as a homeowner/landlord. This is no joke, folks. They will fine you: the landlord, the sales agent and the broker. It has become a nightmare in the real estate Industry.

You can’t discriminate on income, if they have a voucher or if they want more than one person to occupy your apartment. A landlord advertising on his or her own is totally dangerous these days. It’s the truth. And soon you

Phone: (718) 205-8000 Fax: (718) 205-1957

MEMBER

The Queens Chronicle

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

A shame in America

Dear Editor:

This year has been the worst for anti-Semitism and I cry out in shame and disgust. It is an abomination and appalling that this free nation, where Lady Liberty stands proudly in the harbor, should have such a disgusting attitude.

Education must be given, with documentary movies and lessons in schools, visits to Jewish museums and lectures about Judaism. AntiSemitism must stop right now because like a cancer it could spread.

We do not want Hitler times again.

Cynthia Groopman Little Neck

Anti-Semitism at CUNY

Dear Editor:

Re your Dec. 8 editorial “Anti-Semitism on the rise again”:

Kanye West, Kyrie Irving and the UN’s General Assembly are not the only purveyors of anti-Semitism. It also festers at City University Law School in Long Island City and at Brooklyn College. Both schools were criticized for condoning hostility against Jewish students. As a CUNY alumnus (Queens College, BA, 1962), a Jew and a taxpayer, I’m appalled.

Last May, CUNY Law School’s faculty council approved a resolution supporting the pro-Palestine and anti-Jewish Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. The Anti-Defamation League cites BDS as one reason for a rise in attacks on Jews. City Councilwoman Inna Vernikov (R-Brooklyn) responded by canceling $50,000 in NYC funds for CUNY Law School (New York Post, May 29).

Jewish students at Brooklyn College complained of physical and verbal attacks by Justice for Palestine campus activists, who condemned Israel as a “Zionist, colonial and apartheid” nation (Post, Sept. 25). These unproven charges echo the anti-Semitic bile of Kanye West and other bigots.

Jewish students’ complaints sparked a federal probe, because CUNY receives some federal funding. But one-third of its budget comes from New York State. Taxpayers must not support any CUNY college that refuses to halt hatred.

CUNY is America’s largest municipal college system, with 243,000 students on 25 campuses. For the past 175 years, it has been a welcoming and safe institution for students of all faiths, races and ethnicities, until recent events changed that. CUNY must restore its traditional values and not allow hatred to matriculate on any campus.

Richard Reif Kew Gardens Hills

Lock up alleged plotter

Dear Editor:

A Manhattan Supreme Court judge has denied two requests from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg to keep would-be terrorist Matthew Mahrer in jail, where he belongs. Threats against the Jewish community must not be taken lightly, let alone individuals putting plans into action and going as far as stockpiling weapons and equipment to execute an attack on

New York City synagogues.

To add insult to injury, this judge also denied a request asking that Mahrer wear an ankle monitor. It is an absolute dereliction of duty and terrible lapse in judgment that he walks free on bail and untracked.

We stand with the Jewish community in condemning the judge’s decision that has allowed this dangerous and capable individual to freely walk our streets. He continues to be a threat to the public and needs to be behind bars.

James F. Gennaro

FAITH TALK

Pastor Stephen Roser

Stephen Roser is the pastor of Howard Beach Assembly of God Church

We should never get too disturbed by the conduct of earthly rulers because there is an Invisible Hand ruling all that they do. Many presidents, emperors, and kings have carried out God’s will without even realizing it.

Fare hikes needed

Dear Editor:

ONLINE

Miss an article or a letter cited by a writer? Want breaking news from all over Queens? Find the latest news, past reports from all over the borough and more at qchron.com.

Fare hikes are periodically required if the MTA and operating agencies such as NYC Transit bus and subway and Staten Island Railway, MTA Bus and Long Island and MetroNorth railroads are to provide the services millions of New Yorkers count on daily (“Transit fare hikes an option in 2023: MTA,” by Michael Gannon, Dec. 8). They are inevitable, due to increasing costs of labor, power, fuel, supplies, materials, routine safety, state of good repair, replacement of worn-out rolling stock, upgrades to stations including bringing those not in compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act into compliance, signals, interlockings, track, power, yards and shops necessary to run any transit system, as well as inflation. The same is true for ensuring that maintenance programs for all assets are fully funded and completed on time to ensure riders safe and reliable service.

Financial viability of the MTA has always been a four-way dance between fare box revenue, City Hall, Albany and Washington. All we ask in return is a reliable, safe, on-time trip and, as periodically necessary, a reasonable fare increase that doesn’t exceed the current inflation rate. There also need to be real legal consequences for those who don’t pay their way and contribute to fare evasion losses, which will reach $500 million in 2022.

There is no such thing as a free lunch, or in this case ride, for everyone on mass transit.

Larry Penner Great Neck, LI

The writer is a transportation historian, advocate and writer who worked for 31 years in the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office.

Write a Letter!

Letters should be no longer than 300 words and may be edited for length, clarity and other reasons. They may be emailed to letters@qchron.com.

The story of Christmas bears this out. Caesar Augustus issues a decree that all the world be taxed, forcing Joseph to travel to Bethlehem, the town of his birth. Unknown to Caesar, in eternitypast God had already decreed that His Son would be born in that place at that time. The emperor was merely echoing the divine decree.

Also according to divine plan, Mary brings forth her firstborn son, wraps Him in rough bandage-like strips of cloth, and, because the inn was overcrowded, places

the baby in a crude animal feeding trough. Humiliation accompanies Jesus’ entrance into the world, but His birth lays the foundation of a kingdom before which all the emperors of the world would one day go down. Even the rule of Rome is temporary. John describes it in the book of Revelation, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ.”

The birth of Jesus reminds us that our sovereign God has everything under control. Things are falling into place even when they look like they are falling apart. We do not need to panic. We only need to make room in our hearts for His Son.

HOWARD BEACH ASSEMBLY OF GOD

158-31 99th Street, Howard Beach • 718-641-6785 www.HowardBeachAssemblyofGod.com

New York City Councilman for the 24th District Hillcrest Daniel Rosenthal New York State Assemblyman for the 27th District Flushing

Council approves bill to make instructions easier to understand Ranked-choice voting to be made simpler

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

The confusing at times ranked-choice voting process is poised to become easier for voters to comprehend.

The City Council passed a bill last Wednesday that aims to simplify instructions on ranked-choice ballots.

Should Mayor Adams sign the legislation into law, voters will see changes to the ballot when they head to the polls in June for the city’s primary elections.

Councilmember Sandra Ung (D-Flushing), the bill’s primary sponsor and chair of the Committee on Governmental Operations, praised the Council’s approval of the changes, which she described as “commonsense” ones.

“New Yorkers pulled off the largest Ranked Choice Voting election in the history of the U.S. when they went to the polls in last year’s June primary,” she said in a statement.

“This new law will simplify the ballot and make it easier to understand, encouraging all voters, especially those with limited English proficiency, to take advantage of the opportunity to rank their preferred candidates and strengthen the democratic process.”

The parameters laid out in the bill aim to

Councilmember Sandra Ung’s bill to simplify ranked-choice voting instructions passed last week. At left are past instructions, and at right, a sample of how new ones could look. NYC COUNCIL

cut down on the verbiage of ballot instructions seen in previous ranked-choice elections.

Specifically, it says that the Board of Elections must include more illustrations to convey how to correctly fill out the ballot at the top. The bill also stipulates that the BOE include drawings of incorrectly marked ballots, showing one that ranks two candidates

as the same choice and another that ranks a candidate twice.

During the Governmental Operations Committee hearing on the bill, the BOE provided a sample of what the ballot might look like under those parameters, as seen above. A spokesperson for Ung was careful to note, however, that that may not be the final product. Rather, it serves as a model

for how a compliant ballot could look.

To make instructions more comprehensible for voters whose primary language is not English, the legislation requires that instructions in other languages be arranged on the ballot so that they are easy to compare with the English directions.

On top of that, the bill requires that, above each election included on the ballot, instructions regarding ranking candidates be included, though a drawing is not required there.

The most recent version of the ballot had listed each ranking as “1st choice,” “2nd choice,” and so on. Ung’s bill, however, simplifies that, requiring that columns instead be labeled “1,” “2” and so on.

Common Cause NY was one of the groups in Rank the Vote NYC, which played a crucial role in the implementation of the city’s ranked-choice voting system. Susan Lerner, Common Cause NY’s executive director and board chair of Rank the Vote NYC, said she is thrilled the bill passed, saying it will “make the ballot even more voter friendly.”

“Ranked choice voting affords voters more choice and more voice and puts power back in the hands of the people, delivering consensus majority winners every time,” she added in a statement. Q

Holiday fun abounds in OP

Holiday gifts and cheer were spread among nearly 1,000 children in the Ozone Park area over the weekend with festive tree-lighting events.

On Sunday, one was held at the Deshi Senior Center by the Ozone Park Block Association and the Ozone Park Howard

Beach Woodhaven Lions Club and there were photos with holiday friends, top.

The block association held another at the Living Word Christian Fellowship on Friday, above, with partners and elected officials. There was Santa, hot chocolate, train rides and more. — Deirdre Bardolf

Last chance to gift joy to kids in need

The Chronicle’s 26th Annual Toy Drive comes to an end on Monday, Dec. 19

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Time is running out for you to contribute to the Chronicle’s 26th Annual Holiday Toy Drive.

The deadline to drop off goodies is Monday, Dec. 19. Items will go to kids in area shelters, including The Kings Inn Family Shelter in East Elmhurst and Dove House.

While kids are sure to want the hot favorites of the day, like the latest Marvel or DC movie action figure, they might also love old favorites like Rock ’Em, Sock ’Em Robots or good, old-fashioned Legos. Give a youngster the gift of nostalgia this holiday season.

If you’re more technologically inclined, try a remote-controlled car or mini-helicopter. Just remember to check if batteries are included.

Clothing donations are also needed, and remember: All items must be new and unwrapped.

Taste aside, all kids deserve to open something this time of year, and not just the nice ones. Who knows, your contribution could be the spark of joy a youngster needs to discover a whole new world.

Thanks goes out to the contributors at the Chronicle’s Glendale office: Vincent Ciccia from Flushing, Pam Dorman from New Rochelle, Christine Mleczkowski from Middle Village, Donna Scione from Glendale, Trudy Bronnenkant from Maspeth, Barbara Barris from Ridgewood, Pat LaLande from Queens Village, Fay from Middle Village and Lisa from Astoria. Some donors have remained anonymous, and we thank them, too.

The deadline to contribute to the Chronicle’s toy drive is Monday, Dec. 19. PHOTO

Glendale from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

The office is above Home Goods and one enters the building where the sign says The Offices at Market Plaza.

Donations also can be dropped off at the district offices of the following elected officials during their regular office hours:

• State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., at 159-53 102 St. in Howard Beach;

QueensChronicle’s 26th Annual

• Assemblyman Ed Braunstein, at 213-33 39 Ave., Suite 238, in Bayside;

• City Councilman Bob Holden, at 58-38 69 St. in Maspeth;

• Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, at 83-91 Woodhaven Blvd. in Woodhaven: and • Councilwoman Joann Ariola, at 93-06 101 Ave. in Ozone Park.

The new Goldfish Swim School, located across from the Chronicle in Glendale, has also kindly set up a box to receive donations.

Photo contest!

The Queens Chronicle’s 15th annual Holiday Photo Contest is underway!

Take pictures of joyous children and families, lights, miniature villages, snowy landscapes — anything that reflects the season — and send them in. Our main requirement is that the photos be taken in Queens this season. Give us all the details you can, especially the location, the names of people in the picture, when possible, and when it was taken. Please tell us your correct name, where you live and whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer. The winner or winners may have to wait patiently for their prize, free passes to a family-friendly performance in or around the city, as they slowly become available again. Send your entries to peterm@qchron.com, saying “contest” somewhere in the subject line, or mail prints to Queens Chronicle Photo Contest, 71-19 80 St., suite 8-201, Glendale, NY 11385. The deadline is Monday, Jan. 2. Good luck!

Gifts may be brought to the Queens Chronicle offices at 71-19 80 St., Suite 8-201, at The Shops at Atlas Park mall in

Anyone seeking more information on the toy drive is asked to call the Chronicle’s Stela Barbu at (718) 205-8000. Q

Library speaks their language

More than 190 languages are spoken in Queens, where half of the population is not native-born, but one institution should have everyone covered now.

The Queens Public Library announced last week that every branch now offers live phone interpreting services in more than 240 languages, ensuring greater access to the collections, programs and services it provides in the most ethnically and culturally diverse area in the country.

Each library now has a reference or circulation desk equipped with a phone with two handsets. Patrons can pick their lan-

guage from a chart and have a three-way conversation with their librarian and someone from LanguageLine, a company that says it has 16,000 interpreters on call with an average connect time of 16.1 seconds.

“Offering live, on-demand interpretation services by phone in one of the most linguistically diverse areas in the world builds on our longstanding commitment to serving all New Yorkers, whatever languages they speak,” QPL President and CEO Dennis Walcott said in an announcement of the service.

— Peter C. Mastrosimone

BY SEAN OKULA

PHOTO BY STEVE FISHER

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City plans special ed pre-K expansion

City officials on Tuesday announced funding for 400 new preschool seats for special education students.

Mayor Adams and Schools Chancellor David Banks said the initiative, which includes 65 service providers, is the precursor to having a seat for every specialneeds preschooler in the city by spring.

The initial outlay, coupled with an additional 400 seats early in the 2023 calendar year, is expected to be $130 million over two years.

“I know from personal experience what it’s like not to have had the supports I needed to learn and thrive as child. For far too long, our young students living with disabilities have struggled in a system that hasn’t been fully able to meet them where they are,” Mayor Adams said in a press release sent by his office.

“Today, we’re changing that. This expansion ensures not only that our youngest are provided the resources they need to succeed, but that the educators and caretakers who serve them are paid fairly and at a rate worthy of the life shaping the work they do. This investment is long overdue, and I’m so grateful

to everyone who has worked tirelessly to make this a reality.”

“For far too long, children with disabilities and their families have been overlooked by a system that was not built with them in mind,” Banks added. “Our vision for early childhood education sees all children.”

Banks said his team has been focusing on children living with disabilities.

“We are deeply committed to establishing early childhood education that works for all New York City families,” the chancellor said. “A truly accessible, high-quality, and sustainable program that equitably serves our children living with disabilities. Bright starts begin at birth, and I am proud that Deputy Chancellor Dr. Ahmed and the Division of Early Childhood Education are dedicated to creating a truly inclusive early childhood system that will set our children up for success for generations to come.”

Funding is included to recruit, train and retain the necessary staffing to the program. Class days will be lengthened to bring them more in line with other pre-K programs. Q

Jamaica bids farewell to BID exec. director

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Jamaica Center Business Improvement District Executive Director Jennifer Furioli is set to leave the organization at the end of the month for the top job at the White Plains BID.

Of the projects she undertook in her three and a half years at the helm, one she believes will have the most lasting impact on the business corridor, stretching along Jamaica Avenue, is still in progress.

“I was involved in the unification of the three separate downtown business improvement districts into one entity,” she said. “Once this new organization gets their sea legs, I believe it will be an effective force for advocacy for Downtown Jamaica. Services will be better coordinated and duplicative money once spent on administrative overhead can finally go into initiatives that matter: sanitation, business support, activities to draw shoppers and beautification.”

She says the legislative boundaries of the new BID — composed of the JCBID, the Sutphin Boulevard BID and the 165th Street Mall Association — go into effect on Jan. 1, with much of the groundwork for the estab-

lishment of new organizational infrastructure set to take place early next year.

Among the items she hopes the new BID will tackle are a full replacement of Downtown Jamaica’s sidewalks, the revitalization of decimated tree canopies along the corridor and the institution of a horticulture beautification program. She also says improvements are needed to internet access for the downtown business community.

The BID recently learned that the city Department of Transportation has decided to make the Jamaica Avenue bus lane permanent, she said.

“While we support and appreciate DOT’s efforts to increase bus speeds for commuters, to do so at the peril of local businesses by completely cutting off access during their key operating hours, especially just after the pandemic when they have already suffered tremendous business loses, misses the mark,” she said. “We need to be a city of compromise. It makes more sense to have bus lanes in effect when commuting hours are at their worst, and to permit access to our small and micro businesses in the off hours. I’m certain this conversation isn’t finished.”

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Council passes backwater valve bill; House OKs infrastructure funds Flood mitigation efforts inch closer to reality

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

At a town hall in response to the flooding left by the Sept. 13 rainstorm, Flushing residents made their frustrations with persistent flooding issues known. Though at the time, the Department of Environmental Protection emphasized that homeowners should install backwater valves or check valves — which prevent sewage from the sewer system from flowing into a given home — residents were far from satisfied with that answer, and pointed to the need for updates to the area’s sewer infrastructure.

Now, it seems those residents — and the rest of the borough — may be a couple steps closer to getting both of those things.

The City Council last week unanimously approved a bill to establish a program that provides financial aid for the purchase and installation of backwater valves. Meanwhile, the U.S. House passed a bill that includes nearly $120 million worth of funding for improvements to the borough’s sewer system.

The legislation comes just over a year after Hurricane Ida, which caused devastating flooding throughout the borough and took 11 Queens lives as a result. Since then, heavy rainfall and chronic flooding, like that seen on Sept. 13, has continued to plague the borough.

Councilman Jim Gennaro (D-Hillcrest),

Heavy rain has devastated Queens repeatedly, such as during the Sept. 13 storm that left the Cross Island Parkway, above, flooded. Two recent bills could help prevent that. FILE PHOTO

who chairs the Council Committee on Environmental Protection and was the bill’s first sponsor, was thrilled. “This is welcome news for my constituents — many of whom repeatedly experience property damage as a result of backflow during heavy rainfall,” he said in a statement. “Backwater valves are a crucial tool to mitigate damage from wastewater backing up into homes.”

Regarding the passage of the federal bill, Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing), who allocated the federal money and has consistently advocated for improved infrastructure, said, “Constituents shouldn’t have to worry if their homes, cars and streets will flood every time rain is forecasted, and the House’s passage of my legislation gets us one step closer to remedying the problem.”

The federal funding still needs to pass in the U.S. Senate and be signed into law by President Biden. As such, many of the details have yet to be determined.

The backwater valve bill, however, is only awaiting Mayor Adams’ signature. That would only be the beginning of the process, though. The bill calls for a Department of Environmental Protection study assessing the benefits of backwater valves by December 2024. The financial program itself must be established by April 2025, and would prioritize areas that regularly have backflow issues.

The financial assistance program will only apply to backwater valves — not check valves, a spokesperson for Gennaro clarified. Though they serve the same purpose, the mechanics of the two differ slightly. The same spokesperson said it is not yet clear whether the program would subsidize backwater valves or provide reimbursements for them. That will be determined following the DEP study.

Nor is it clear how much money city residents would get for backwater valves. The price of the valves varies for buildings of different sizes. According to Gennaro’s office, valves for one- to two-story buildings can cost between $3,000 and $5,500, and $5,000 to $7,000 for mid-sized buildings, though that number exceeds $14,000 for large buildings, like high rises and hospitals. Q

Schools cite space jam in charter talks

Leaders at SGEC and MS 72 say no reason to risk program cutbacks

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Southeast Queens school officials continue to oppose the proposed co-location of charter schools on two campuses.

Ahead of joint public hearings scheduled for next week, leadership at the Springfield Gardens Educational Campus and MS 72 in Rochdale held events aiming to illustrate the already fully utilized conditions in their buildings, as the city Panel for Educational Policy is set to vote on the potential co-location of Success Academy charter schools at the locations early next month.

Last Thursday, the PTAs of all four schools at the Springfield Gardens complex — Queens Preparatory Academy, Excelsior Preparatory High School, George Washington Carver High School for the Sciences and Preparatory Academy for Writers — held a joint meeting in the building’s auditorium, at which they condemned the proposed co-location.

“I’m going to ask all of us to make sure we email every last person on this list,” PTA President for the Preparatory Academy for Writers Genevieve Jean said of a list of PEP members.

“Their email boxes need to be inundated. They need to be full. It needs to be, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t check my email anymore,’” she added.

Two students from Excelsior Preparatory

High School — Najwa Waysome and Pauly Piña — said they are planning a demonstration for Thursday, Dec. 15.

“When I told my friends and helped spread [awareness] of this issue, that this may happen, we were all very shocked, because if you have ever seen the hallways in our school, you would know they’re extremely crowded,” Waysome said. “Trying to leave the school from 2:30 to

3:30 [p.m.], it is extremely crowded.”

The students also expressed concerns about pushed-back lunch periods and condensed gym time. Under the building utilization plan, Excelsior would have access to the cafeteria for lunch from 1 to 1:45 p.m. and access to the school’s three gymnasiums from 1:40 to 3:10 p.m.

Waysome and Piña, along with Queens Preparatory Academy students Blair Vales

and Amonique Wynter, expressed concerns about introducing K-4 students into a setting that currently only includes students in grades 6 to 12.

“You’re letting 9- and 10-year-olds come into a school with 15-, 16-, 17-, 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds,” Vales said. “It’s just weird. Those 18- and 19-year-olds have habits — as in smoking, doing narcotics after school, things they aren’t supposed to be doing — and they might see these little kids and think there are ways to influence them into doing things they want them to do.”

The principals from all four schools were also in attendance, and expressed concerns about their students being spaced out of programming.

“I’m not saying the elementary school students don’t have a right to have space,” George Washington Carver High School President Janice Sutton said. “However, that space is not here.

“They should use the space to develop the programs and expand the programs in our building that we know have been successful.”

According to the educational impact statement provided by the city Department of Education with the proposal for co-location, the SGEC building utilization rate is at approximately 69 percent for the 2022-23 school year,

MS 72 Restorative Justice Coordinator Clevevon Akil and UFT representative Bruce Zihal led a walkthrough of the school campus on Monday. The building is one of two targeted for a proposed co-location with a Success Academy charter school, along with the Springfield Gardens Educational Campus.

PHOTO BY SEAN OKULA

continued

from

City Councilmember Selvena BrooksPowers (D-Laurelton) was one of approximately 40 in attendance at the meeting, and she expressed concerns about younger and older students coexisting in one building.

“I believe in parents’ choice, as a mom,” she said. “However, I do not believe in colocations, and I’ve been very clear about that for some time now. I have strong concerns about having an elementary school placed within a high school.”

On Monday, the Chronicle participated in a walkthrough of the Q072 campus — home to Catherine & Count Basie MS72, Redwood Middle School and PS Q993. Administrators and a representative from the United Federation of Teachers aimed to demonstrate that all of the school’s space was being utilized, in contrast with the 46 percent utilization rate listed in the educational impact statement for the proposed co-location of a Success Academy elementary school on the premises.

A spokesperson for the DOE said that excess space implies that a school could serve its enrollment in fewer rooms, not that a number of rooms are not being used by a school.

Of the rooms observed by the Chronicle, which encompassed all four floors of the building, all were utilized for some purpose, though not all were occupied at any given time. Some rooms were split down the middle by a divider, turning one classroom into two.

The school is organized as to best keep each individual school together and operating in its own space. Each school is designated its own staircase, with the first and second floors split between MS 72 on one side and Q993 on the other, the third split between MS 72 and Redwood and the fourth occupied entirely by Redwood.

MS 72 Restorative Justice Coordinator Clevevon Akil and UFT District 28 representative Bruce Zihal wonder how the school would make space for the Success charter, slated to occupy 13 full-size classrooms, two half-size classrooms and three

rooms equivalent to a full-size classroom space for administrative purposes.

“The educational impact statement says there’s going to be no impact on the school,” Zihal said. “How can that be if Success Academy is coming in? Based on the way the school is split up already, it would be a massive reorganization, first of all, of the school.

“Secondly, there would have to be a reduction of programs. We’re seeing everything that goes on in this school, all of the great programs that they have; if another school comes in, the programs that are offered here would have to be reduced, and the programs that are in the works for the near future would be reduced as well.”

The school already faces spacing issues under its current layout. During the walkthrough, the Chronicle observed a Q993 class, which is the District 75 branch in the building, participating in a physical education class taking place in a space designated to be a girl’s locker room.

Akil said a community walkthrough is planned for Thursday with safety officials from the Department of Education. Akil and Zihal said the department has performed no in-person inspection of the premises. The building utilization plan says a space verification was conducted by a representative of the of the DOE’s Office of Space Planning on Sept. 14, which was confirmed by a spokesperson.

The joint public hearing for the co-location at Q072 is set for Monday, Dec. 19, at 6 p.m. via teleconference, available at LearnDOE.org/districtplanning. The hearing for the Springfield Gardens Educational Campus is scheduled for 6 p.m. the next day, Tuesday, Dec. 20, joinable at the same link.

The Panel for Educational Policy meeting on the proposals for the co-locations is scheduled for Jan. 5 at 6 p.m. at Long Island City High School, located at 14-30 Broadway in Astoria. Q

Correction

New York State Senator - District 15

P. ADDABBO, JR.

May the lights of Chanukah bring you health and happiness this holiday season.

and according to the building utilization plan, it has 26 full-sized classrooms and three half-sized classrooms in excess of the citywide instructional footprint allocation.

Bright lights for the holidays at Atlas Park

Santa took a break from his North Pole toy factory on Dec. 10 to officiate at the annual Christmas tree lighting at The Shops at Atlas Park in Glendale.

In the top row, Julia from Middle Village, left, was excited to see the tree light up. Next to her, students from the KTB Dance Studio in Glendale got ready for Santa’s arrival, which last weekend was in transportation a bit more modern than his traditional sleigh.

In the second row, the KTB students prepared to wow the crowd, while Mera Almalahi and Bryan Cuadrado stretched out in the courtyard. Next to them, Lt. Sean Dolphin of the NYPD’s Patrol Borough Queens North welcomed

Mrs. Claus to Queens.

In the third row officers from Queens North plus the 104th and 112th precincts made the Kringles’ welcome to the city official. It was unknown if the first couple of the North Pole stopped by a gift table staffed by sponsors Main Street Radiology, Laser World and Bee’s Arts and Crafts Studio. But next to them, Officer Taylor Cumbo of the 112th Precinct was getting into the spirit of the celebration.

In the fourth row, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. and Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar, at right, were on hand to greet revelers.

So too was Officer Keith Tuohey of the 112th Precinct, far right.

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL SHAIN

Review of 14 mass transit options is nearing conclusion, says agency LaGuardia transit study due soon: PA

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Queens residents have grown accustomed over the years to public transportation that operates at a leisurely pace.

But while it has been nearly nine months since the last public input meeting on proposals for new access to LaGuardia Airport by mass transit, and 13 since a three-person panel was appointed to study 14 alternatives under consideration, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said Tuesday that there is light visible at the end of the tunnel.

“The review of mass transit alternatives to LaGuardia Airport, undertaken at Governor Hochul’s request, is continuing and nearing conclusion,” a PA spokesman told the Chronicle in an email on Tuesday.

“Working in close consultation with a panel of independent experts and stakeholders, the Port Authority is conducting a thorough and rigorous review of 14 mass transit alternatives as expeditiously as possible. Once complete, a report will be sent to Governor Hochul and released publicly,” he said.

Hochul on Oct. 4, 2021 ordered a study of alternatives to the project that was championed by former Governor Andrew Cuomo — an air train that would have run along the Grand Central Parkway and the Malcolm X Promenade by Flushing Bay between LaGuardia and

the No. 7 subway station at Mets-Willets Point.

While the proposal drew the wrath of nearby residents, environmentalists and park advocates, it remains one of the 14 options being considered.

In November of last year the study panel was created. Its members are Janette SadikKhan, who served as the city’s transportation commissioner under Mayor Mike Bloomberg from 2007 to 2013; Philip Washington, the CEO of Denver International Airport and the former head of the Los Angeles Metro transit system; and Mike Brown, former commissioner of transport for London and the former managing director of Heathrow Airport in London.

The proposed options include:

• transit improvements including a possible bus lane from the proposed Roosevelt Avenue station on the proposed Interborough Express rail line;

• improvements to the existing M60 bus route that runs from the West Side in Manhattan to LaGuardia through the Bronx and Astoria;

• dedicated bus rapid transit routes along the GCP running between LaGuardia and the Astoria Boulevard station on the N-W elevated subway line;

and the present terminus of the N/W line at Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard;

• bus lanes running on Northern Boulevard and 94th Street between LaGuardia and the Northern Boulevard station on the M/R subway line;

• shuttle bus service along 31st Street and 19th Avenue in Astoria between the airport

• the original Cuomo-backed Mets-Willets Point AirTrain route, which already has cleared federal environmental studies;

• elevated light rail service between the Long Island Rail Road’s Jamaica Station — which has a rail link with John F. Kennedy International Airport — and LaGuardia;

• elevated light rail along the GCP between LaGuardia and the Astoria Boulevard N/W subway station;

• an elevated light rail line between LaGuardia and the proposed Roosevelt Avenue station on the proposed Interborough Express rail line;

• extending the N/W elevated subway line with an eastern branch that runs to the airport along the GCP from 30th Avenue;

• extending the N/W line north along 31st Street from Ditmars Boulevard, then turning along 19th Avenue before continuing east along the GCP to LaGuardia;

• ferry service to and from Bowery Bay and Flushing Bay at opposite ends of LaGuardia, with Manhattan stops at Pier 11, East 34th and East 90th streets; and

• possible future technology including narrow tunnels with electric vehicles, autonomous shuttles or buses or other modes.

• elevated light rail along the BrooklynQueens Expressway and GCP between LaGuardia and the 61st Street-Woodside subway-Long Island Rail Road hub;

Maps of the proposed projects and other information can be viewed online at bit.ly/3L5PItk.

Residents in March at one of the meetings hosted by the Port Authority.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON / FILE

Three arrested in Ozone Park stabbing

Three teenage boys were arrested and charged with gang assault for an attack that left one man dead in Ozone Park last Wednesday afternoon.

Just before 3 p.m., officers in the 106th Precinct responded to a call of two men who were stabbed near Lefferts and Rockaway boulevards.

Justin Shaw, 20, of Brooklyn, was pronounced dead at Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. He had sustained stab wounds to the chest. Another 20-yearold man, who was stabbed in the leg, was listed in stable condition.

Further investigation revealed the victims engaged in a dispute with a group of others, which escalated and led to the stabbings, according to police.

Late Thursday, police announced that three males ages 13, 15 and 17 were arrested and charged with gang assault and assault, and the 17-year-old also was charged with criminal possession of a weapon.

Student robbed on Forest Hills street

Police are seeking two suspects in the daylight robbery of a teenager who was standing near a bus stop on Metropolitan Avenue in Forest Hills on Nov. 14.

According to the NYPD, the crime took place at about 3:10 p.m. in front of a restaurant at 98-31 Metropolitan Ave., which is next door to the North Forest Park Library and three blocks from a campus that houses three public schools. Video of the suspects can be viewed at qchron.com.

Two males approached the 15-year-old victim with one displaying a knife before the two demanded his book bag. The other then punched the victim in the face and took the bag, which contained a laptop, a calculator and a charger.

Both then fled. Police said the boy did not sustain serious injuries.

Guv signs space heater safety law

Gov. Hochul on Dec. 8 signed new safety regulations for electric space heaters into law.

The signing took place one day short of 11 months since the deaths of 19 people in the Twin Parks apartment complex in the Bronx on Jan. 9.

“After flames engulfed the Twin Parks apartments last year, we worked to help impacted families recover and vowed to never forget the tragedy and to protect New Yorkers,” Hochul said in a statement on her official website.

“As the weather gets colder once again and we crank up the heat in our homes, this legislation will help prevent future disasters and keep New Yorkers safe as we ensure higher safety standards for all electric space heaters sold in our state.”

They were taken into custody shortly after the incident, a police spokesperson said.

Q

— Deirdre Bardolf

Anyone with information on their names or whereabouts is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1 (800) 577-TIPS (8477), or, for Spanish, 1 (888) 57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit tips by logging onto nypdcrimestoppers.com, or by texting 274637 (CRIMES), then entering TIP577.

All tips are strictly confidential. Q

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Then call 911 or 1-800-75-CONED.

Learn more about gas safety at conEd.com/gassafety

The legislation amends the general business law to prohibit any retailer of electric space heaters from selling them in New York State without a thermostat, automatic shut off and certification by a testing and certification body recognized and approved by the United States Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or OSHA. Q

These two men are wanted for a daylight street robbery near three schools in Forest Hills on Nov. 14. PHOTO COURTESY NYPD

Ribbon cut on Tree of Life in Jamaica

BP touts affordable housing effort, says Creedmoor convos to begin in January

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

As the First Jamaica Community and Urban Development Corp. opened the doors on its new affordable housing development, Borough President Donovan Richards and others in attendance at the ribbon-cutting ceremony alluded to a future with another large-scale project coming to the Eastern Queens area.

The FJCUDC celebrated the completion and opening of The Tree of Life Center, a 174-unit apartment building with leasable office and retail space located at 89-60 164 St., just a building away from the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica. At the ceremony, Richards touted the completion of the project, but also mentioned that public discussion around the development of the land occupied by the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center in Queens Village would start in January.

“To me, it’s clear as day that there’s only one way out of this crisis, and that’s building our way out of it,” he said, speaking on the city’s housing situation. “Long gone are the days we need to talk about building. We have to build affordable housing for our communities, and those behind this Tree of Life project have had the vision to understand this reality.”

“We’re not done in Queens,” he added. “I know Rev. O’Connor has spoken heavily about the Creedmoor campus, and that project is moving forward. In January, we will start the public engagement process on that site, and it’s about time we stop talking about mental health and [start] investing in it and supportive housing.”

The Rev. Patrick O’Connor — who serves as the lead pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Jamaica, which runs FJCUDC — says all the units in the Tree of Life development will be available for those making 90 percent of the area median income or below, half will be available for those at 50 percent or below and 59 units will be permanently affordable, as to limit the chance of circumvention of the development’s intended affordability once the lowincome housing tax credit period expires.

“We don’t want somebody in the future to say, ‘We got through the tax credit period and now we’re going to put it to market rate,’” he said.

O’Connor says the rental process is under-

way, with more than 26,000 applications submitted for the 174-unit space.

Following Richards’ comments, the Rev. David Brawley made an impassioned plea to turn the Creedmoor campus into the largest affordable housing development in the city.

“If First Church can take the resource of land and make a tree of life, then certainly there are

other congregations throughout our city that can do the same,” he said. “We call on our elected officials to work with us ... we call on our elected officials to help us so we can eradicate this injustice; people not having a place to live that they can afford is truly an injustice.”

“It’s been spoken, and this congregation has

Borough President Donovan Richards, center, helped cut the ribbon at The Tree of Life Center, left, on Friday. At the ceremony, he mentioned that the public engagement process around the future of the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center would begin in January.

PHOTOS BY SEAN OKULA

Lawyer says DNA test backs Dorothy Hirsch

Claims DA can’t prove knowledge of guns

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Dorothy Hirsch’s lawyer is saying DNA tests conducted on handguns found in her apartment back her contention that she had no idea her late estranged husband kept firearms in a closet at her home packed with his belongings.

Hirsch was indicted on weapons charges in September. Nine guns were seized from her Briarwood apartment on June 2, one day after her estranged husband, Glenn Hirsch, was charged with murdering Chinese food deliveryman Zhiwen Yan on April 30 at a Forest Hills intersection.

Defense attorney Mark Bederow has asserted from the beginning that Dorothy Hirsch, a 63-year-old registered nurse, did not know and had no way of knowing that handguns and ammunition were being kept in the closet.

Glenn Hirsch was out on $500,000 bail when he shot himself to death just prior to a court hearing on Aug. 5.

In a letter to prosecutors dated Dec. 3, Bederow said tests on the guns did not turn up matches to his client’s DNA, even while Glenn Hirsch’s DNA was on some of the weapons. He called the test results “exculpatory” while repeating his call for the office of Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz to drop the indictment.

Bederow, in the letter to Assistant District Attorney Thomas Salmon, said the Nov. 30 report on DNA tests on the guns was entirely favorable toward his client.

“You clearly recognize the significance of these results,” Bederow wrote. “In your application seeking to compel a [cheek] swab, you alleged that a comparison of DNA from the firearms and Dorothy’s DNA would provide ‘relevant material evidence’ linking her to the firearms by ‘demonstrating her knowing [emphasis added by Bederow] possession of an illegal firearm.’

“In fact, the opposite is true. The DNA results demonstrate that nothing links Dor-

Tree of Life

from page 25

othy to the firearms Glenn Hirsch stored among the possessions he put inside of black garbage bags and boxes which he then stuffed in a hallway closet.”

Bederow continued by stating further tests demonstrate that it is “almost 94 times more probable” that Mrs. Hirsch’s DNA is not on the other testable weapon.

“In other words, there is no evidence that Dorothy ever touched any of the firearms from the closet while there is conclusive proof that Glenn did.”

In an email to the Chronicle on Tuesday, Katz’s office said it does not comment on ongoing investigations.

Glenn Hirsch had a long-running feud with the Great Wall restaurant, where Yan worked, over Hirsch’s claim that he once was not given a sufficient amount of duck sauce with a takeout order.

Yan, 45, was the married father of three children and lived in Elmhurst. He was very popular among his regular Forest Hills clientele built up over two decades.

Before the killing, Glenn Hirsch was accused of threatening workers at the restaurant, including one time with a firearm, and of committing at least one act of vandalism on an automobile.

Surveillance video allegedly showed that Hirsch, on the evening of Yan’s murder, circled the block where the restaurant is located multiple times before following Yan as he left on his scooter to make deliveries. Hirsch was accused of trailing Yan to 67th Drive and 108th Street in Forest Hills, where he allegedly got out of his car and shot him.

Surveillance video also reportedly showed that Hirsch then went to his wife’s apartment, for which he had a key, within minutes of the shooting.

Bederow has a motion pending before the court seeking to dismiss the indictment based on allegations that the DA’s Office improperly withheld evidence favorable to Dorothy Hirsch from the grand jury. Q

already demonstrated it’s possible: If we can do this here, let’s do this at Creedmoor,” he added.

The property on which The Tree of Life Center is located is owned by the First Presbyterian Church, according to O’Connor. The Creedmoor campus is operated by the state Office of Mental Health.

State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) expressed concerns about the state of Creedmoor.

“We’re going to do everything we can to make Creedmoor as affordable as possible, with the realization that there’s a ton of asbestos there,” he said. “There’s desire and then there’s reality, and we have to explore everything.”

continued

Borough President Donovan Richards talked Creedmoor on Friday.

PHOTO BY SEAN OKULA

Miracle on 108th St. brings toys and joys

by Peter Kropf Chronicle Contributor

A bearded man with a jolly smile was handing out presents in Corona on a chilly Tuesday afternoon — and it wasn’t Santa Claus.

It was Councilman Francisco Moya (D-Corona), who was leading a holiday toy giveaway at William F. Moore Park at the intersection of Corona Avenue and 108th Street between 51st and 52nd avenues.

Moya and a handful of volunteers from the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council passed out free toys to hundreds of excited neighborhood children and families. The line of people waiting for gifts extended around the perimeter of the park. It’s estimated that about 500 toys were distributed between 3 and 5:30 p.m.

The councilman is in a particularly generous mood. In November he delivered turkeys to over 3,500 families across his district. And he has two more gift giveaways scheduled before Christmas.

“Some families here struggle to put food on their tables, so some kids might not be able to get a gift during the holiday,” Moya pointed out. “And the coronavirus did not help.

“But the mere gesture of a gift can mean the world to these kids. Seeing the look on their happy faces is my favorite part of days like this.”

Where do all the presents come from?

Moya’s office works with a laundry list of sponsors, along with community-based organizations and local churches, to ensure that children of various ages can receive a toy they’ll enjoy.

The festivities were far from over when the gift-giving ended. Next came the 42nd annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, which has been held at William F. Moore Park each year.

According to Moya, the Lisa family, a once-prominent political powerhouse in Corona, used to organize the tree-lighting affair. Born and raised in the area, Moya attended it growing up. The councilman described former Democratic District Leader Jim Lisa as a mentor and his “political grandfather.” It’s fitting that Moya has hosted the event for the last two decades.

“I took up the mantle because I want to see this tradition continue,” Moya said. “It’s become a true community and family event.”

Corona Democratic District Leader Ari Espinal, who co-hosted the tree lighting with Moya, told the crowd that the annual gathering “keeps the neighborhood alive.”

The tree lighting was preceded by classic Christmas songs: chorus students from St. Leo Catholic Academy, PS 110 and PS 14 Fairview belted out enthusiastic renditions.

PS 14 Fairview’s choir has had some practice outdoors recently: It was selected as this year’s NBC 4 New York Star Choir and sang on live television Nov. 30 at the Rockefeller Center tree lighting. Q

At top right, the tree at William F. Moore Park stands 22 feet high. At far right, some of the many gift recipients at the Christmas tree lighting and toy giveaway led by Councilman Francisco Moya Tuesday. Clockwise from above, Moya helps a child pick a gift; the PS 110 choir; the PS 14 choir, with Moya; Moya with Mike Liquori, left, commander of VFW Post 150, and toy giveaway volunteers Donald Walsh, Frank Sturiano, Victor Ocori and Billy Loria, all of the Cement and Concrete Workers District Council; and Moya with Ecuadorian Civic Committee of New York President Oswaldo Guzman, left, Yessenia Calle, designer of the tree’s installation and decorations, Calle’s father, Mario, and, in front, her nephew and two godchildren.

PHOTOS BY PETER KROPF

Get in touch with our Frauds Bureau, at (718) 286-6673, or Frauds@QueensDA.org, if you think you’ve been scammed.

Hochul hosts groundbreaking for Quebec-Astoria hydroelectric energy Champlain Hudson Express a done deal

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

The word “history” was spoken frequently on Nov. 30 when Gov. Hochul hosted a ceremonial — and indoor — groundbreaking for the 339-mile Champlain Hudson Power Express cables that will bring clean hydroelectric energy from Quebec to Astoria.

Donald Jessome, president and CEO of Transmission Developers Inc., zeroed in on an often-checkered part of Queens history.

“Thank you all for joining us here today to celebrate the official start of a groundbreaking project that will supply 20 percent of New York City’s needs by delivering renewable energy to Astoria, which has traditionally borne the brunt of fossil fuel generation and its associated health impacts for decades.”

Hochul hosted representatives of the key players in the Town of Whitehall in upstate Washington County. Under an agreement involving New York State, Hydro-Quebec, the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawake and organized labor, the project will begin powering New York City in 2026. It will come ashore at the massive Con Edison complex on 20th Avenue, which houses a number of energy companies.

While it has been criticized by some environmental organizations, particularly those concerned about the digging that will be

required to submerge miles and miles of cable beneath Lake Champlain and the Hudson River. Overland cables will be buried.

Hochul touted it as a major part of reaching the state’s statutory levels of renewable energy use by 2030 and 2050.

She and others also stressed what they say

PHOTO BY DARREN MCGEE / NYS

will be a $3.5 billion economic impact on communities all along the route, including increased tax revenue to 73 municipalities and 59 school districts.

“[Seventy] percent of our electricity will come from renewables by 2030,” Hochul said according to a transcript on her official web-

site. “And we used to talk about 2030 as if it’s off into the future. That’s right around the corner ... 85 percent emission reductions by 2050. These are ambitions, but they’re doable.”

Michael Lyons, president of the Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council, said the project will create three million hours of work for union construction workers.

A parallel project that also has been approved is Clean Path NY, which will transmit solar- and wind-generated electricity from upstate from a substation in Delaware County. It will connect at the Rainey power substation located just north of the Roosevelt Island Bridge.

Pierre Despars, vice president of HydroQuebec, said it was the culmination of plans considered by his company for 15 years.

“To work 15 years on a project, you need perseverance and you need to believe in what you’re doing,” Despars said. “We need to work as a region to move our economies toward cleaner energy.”

Grand Chief Sky-Deer of the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawake, across whose ancestral lands the route will traverse, said it is a continuation of their long association with New York City, where hundreds of Mohawks were employed as ironworkers on many historic skyscrapers and bridges. Q

Gov. Hochul, center, with Michael Lyons, president at Greater Capital Region Building and Construction Trades Council, Doreen Harris, of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Donald Jessome of Transmission Developers Inc., Pierre Despars of Hydro-Quebec and Grand Chief Sky-Deer of the Mohawk Council of the Kahnawake, staged a groundbreaking on an actual stage in the town of Whitehall.

ARTS, CULTURE & LIVING

NIFTY GIFTING

by Deirdre Bardolf

If you’ve made a list, checked it twice, and realized that you’re still missing some gifts as Christmas is fast-approaching, here are some useful, trendy and classic ideas sure to bring smiles that can be here in time for the festivities, all for under $50 from Amazon.

As the cold sets in and we await more snowfall, spread some warmth among your loved ones with touch-screen gloves from Moshi for $29.95 on Amazon, which feature 10-finger conductivity instead of limited pointer finger and thumb patches. A cool rubber pattern allows for

increased grip and the fleece lining is extra comfy. Or, make sure commuters and those who spend lots of time outdoors are toasty with a rechargeable portable pocket heater from Ocoopa for $27.99.

A practical gift for the one who is always connected is a wireless, three-in-one charger for an iPhone, Apple watch and AirPods for $39.99 from Waitiee, expensive gadgets not included — leave those for Santa.

y

e portable ter f rom 27.99 l gi f t f o r is a l ways a wireless, e charger n e, A p pp le l A i rP P od s f ro o m e nsi ve e n cludose for t of cleansing goo k f rom car interiors, keym ore. For around $ 6 from mazon, cleaning g et dust out o f little

Give the gift of cleansing goo that rids gunk from car interiors, keyboards and more. For around $6 from Pulidiki on Amazon, the cleaning gel can be used to get dust out of any little cracks.

in fact, develop the photos for. You can find them for around $26.

Another classic item that could make a great gift is a waffle iron, but a mini version from Amazon brand Dash for just $12.99 adds a unique spin with fun colors and patterns such

v

A mazon brand Dash for just $ 12 unique spin with f un colors and p as snowmen and skulls.

For younger generations, believe it or not, disposable cameras are back in — yep, the Kodak kind that drugstores do still,

e r generations, or ble cameras are back in — ak k in d t h at d rugstores d o sti ll ,

Boba, or bubble, tea is all the rage but instead of trekking out to get some of the tapioca pearl beverage, try a fun at-home project by making it. Amazon sells boba tea kits like one from Locca for $43.50 that has the ingredients to make at least 24 servings. It includes three real loose-leaf tea flavors, one large bag of easy-tocook boba, eight boba straws and recipe cards.

Boba, or bubble, tea is all the rag of some the fun at-home proje it t Am A azon tea li Locca for $43 the t l o o c o eigh and re

You can still find that perfect quirky present k

I HAVE OFTEN

Cindy Adams could’ve told all the gossip in Hollis

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

On July 3, 1927, Liverpool, England-born Jessica Sugar married a Bronx dentist, Jerome Jones First in Manhattan. They were blessed with a precious little girl, Cynthia, on April 24, 1930. But Jessica found little in common with her dentist husband, who was known to have very bad teeth, and divorced him in 1932. She married Harry Heller, an insurance agent, on June 21, 1933. Mom Jessica became an executive secretary for an import company and they moved into a beautiful home at 19330 Woodhull Ave. in Hollis.

Cindy, attractive and 5-foot-6, got the attention of young photographers at Andrew Jackson High School in Cambria Heights. She refused to learn how to sew in sewing class and left school before graduation to become a full-time model. In 1951, she met the famous comedian Joey Adams, 19 years her senior, who had just gotten divorced. She married him on Valentine’s Day 1952. That changed her life forever.

Her husband’s close association with gossip columnist Walter Winchell led her into the field of journalism. She wrote for newspapers, wrote books and became a gossip columnist for the New York Post, getting syndicated in 1981. The rest is history.

She and Joey, who died at 88 in 1999, had no kids. But today, “Madame Adams” is alive and well, still working at 92 from her penthouse apartment on Fifth Avenue. Q

The childhood home of journalist and gossip columnist Cindy Adams at 193-30 Woodhull Ave. in Hollis, as it looked in the 1940s when she lived there. INSET VIA WIKIPEDIA / DAVID SHANKBONE

Give the gift of reading this holiday season

by Sophie Krichevsky associate editor

We all have that one person on our giftgiving lists who is impossible to buy for, or claims they “don’t want anything.” In my family, the solution to that has always been simple: Get them a book. But with the clock ticking on the holidays, picking one may seem like a daunting task. Fear not: Whether you’re searching for the perfect present or just looking for something to curl up with next to the fire, the Chronicle has your back this holiday season.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin (Knopf) — After going years without speaking, Sam and Sadie, now students at Harvard and MIT, respectively, run into each other in a crowded Boston T station. The pair reconnects, and, with the help of Sam’s roommate, Marx, soon decide to build a video game together, which quickly becomes wildly successful.

But to describe Zevin’s latest novel merely as a book about video games hardly scratches the surface — nor do readers need to play video games to connect with its contents (I don’t!). The book follows Sam, Sadie and Marx as they navigate their rapid climb to the top and come of age in a world that is often less than

forgiving. Through her gorgeously written prose, Zevin explores myriad topics ranging from family to platonic love to identity.

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng (Penguin Press) — Award-winning author Celeste Ng’s latest novel is vastly different from her previous one, “Little Fires Everywhere” (which, by the way, also makes for a great gift). In the days after “the Crisis,” a worldwide economic decline pinned on China, Asian-Americans are subject to violence and discrimination; all the while, the U.S. government has imposed censorship laws in the name of “preserving American

culture.” The novel’s protagonist, a 12-year-old boy named Bird, finds himself struggling to understand that world while searching for his mother, a Chinese-American poet who left when he was 9.

Ng’s dystopian space is eerily reminiscent of the pandemic, but it is not heavyhanded; she manages to capture the ambiance of 2020’s overlapping crises without doing so explicitly.

Fleishman is in Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner (Random House) — Unlike the other books featured in this article, Taffy Brodesser-Akner’s debut novel was not released in 2022. The

eponymous FX-Hulu limited series, however, premiered in November, and fans of the show may not have read the book. But even those who have not watched it are sure to enjoy the story of Toby Fleishman, a recently divorced doctor. He wakes up one Friday morning to find his two young children in his new apartment earlier than expected. But when the weekend ends, his ex-wife, Rachel, never comes to pick them up. Through Brodesser-Akner’s witty and insightful storytelling, readers watch Toby search for Rachel, and, in the process, begin to understand why his marriage fell apart.

The Maid by Nita Prose (Ballantine Books) — Molly Gray, a 25-year-old woman who struggles to recognize social cues, is learning to navigate life working as a hotel maid in a Canadian city without her Gran, who recently died and had worked alongside her.

But things take a turn for the worst when she finds wealthy hotel guest Charles Black dead in his suite, and soon becomes the lead suspect in the crime. With help from friends she didn’t know she had, Molly must find the real killer before it’s too late. Prose’s debut is intricately plotted and told, making for the perfect winter read.

Wrap up holiday shopping with fun, easy gifts

A fun gift for the whole family to be used during a winter break game night is the hit card game Taco vs Burrito, which was created by a 7-year-old boy and soared on the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. The game is sure to bring the laughs and is surprisingly strategic, as players draw cards that add an ingredient to a taco or burrito, add tummy aches that reduce the value of a meal or hot sauce that increases value! It was on

sale for $15.98 at the time of publishing.

After that, family game night is complete with Wordle the Party Game, inspired by The New York Times-owned daily challenge that launched this year. Players take turns writing down a secret five-letter word and the others try to guess it in the fewest tries. Buy it for $19.82 on Amazon.

And for the younger kids, which of them wouldn’t love building a fort? Now, they can leave the couch cushions intact and instead break out the CrazyForts! 69-piece buildable indoor and outdoor play set, which sells for $43.64. The project cultivates STEM skills as kids can think creatively and work together to construct a variety of differently shaped structures. Throw some sheets or blankets on top and they will be occupied for hours.

Another STEM toy available on Amazon is the coding and drawing robot Artie 3000, from Educational Insights, for $49.49. Kids create the code and the robot draws the lines on paper. It comes with preprogrammed designs so beginners can start coding right away. They plug in their own tablet or computer to Artie 3000 and follow step-by-step instructions to start program-

ming in minutes.

Another kid-friendly gift guaranteed to bring some cheer are the Untamed Raptors by Fingerlings available on the WowWee store on Amazon. For just $14.99, the interactive, finger-gripping dinosaurs respond to sound, motion and touch. They roar, hiss, chomp and even pass gas! But don’t be

scared — they come with a snooze feature.

To gift some homemade Queens treasures, check out the Astoria Holiday Market on Dec. 18 at the Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden where there will be art, jewelry, toys, chocolates, body care, handbags, clothing, stationery, scarves, hats and pottery for sale from area vendors.

Books make for the perfect gift — even for those particularly tricky recipients. Here are some titles we’d recommend.

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Legal Notices

149-05 NORTHERN CHICKEN LLC, Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 11/21/2022. Offi ce loc: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent upon whom process against the LLC may be served. SSNY shall mail process to: The LLC, 149-05 Northern Blvd, Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: Any Lawful Purpose.

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NOTICE TO BOHUMIL FIALA. SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, COUNTY OF NEW YORK. Index No. 500359/2016. In the Matter of the Final Account of SELFHELP COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC., COMMUNITY GUARDIAN PROGRAM, Guardian of the Person and Property of BOHUMIL FIALA, An Incapacitated Person. PLEASE TAKE NOTICE, that SELFHELP COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC., COMMUNITY GUARDIAN PROGRAM is seeking to settle its fi nal account as to be discharged as guardian of BOHUMIL FIALA. The sum of $14,640.14 is due and owning to BOHUMIL FIALA, formerly or currently of New York City. If the said funds are not claimed by BOHUMIL FIALA on or before November 16, 2022, the said funds will be paid into court pursuant to CPLR § 2601. BOHUMIL FIALA should contact SELFHELP COMMUNITY SERVICES, INC., COMMUNITY GUARDIAN PROGRAM at (212) 971-7752 or his court-appointed counsel, Matthew Milford, Esq., at matthewmilford@yahoo.com, in order to claim the funds owed.

A non-profit organization in Queens is soliciting sealed bids for the sale and installation of FENCING

Selection criteria will include knowledge of security, adherence to projected work schedule, prior experience, references, and cost. Specifications and bid requirements can be obtained by contacting 2021UpgradeCommittee@ gmail.com. Bids will be accepted until February 15th, 2023.

Interested bidders will be required to sign for the proposal documents and must provide primary contact name, phone number and email address.

Notice is hereby given that an on-premises liquor license, Serial #TBA has been applied for by 11-01 43rd Ave, LLC d/b/a Lost in Paradise to sell beer, wine, cider and liquor at retail in a Restaurant. For onpremises consumption under the ABC Law at 11-01 43rd Avenue - Rooftop Long Island City NY 11101.

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Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of BETTER BEATS LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/15/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: BETTER BEATS LLC, 2945 215TH PL BAYSIDE, NY 11360. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

NOTICE OF SALE SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS 1900 CAPITAL TRUST III, BY U.S. BANK TRUST NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, NOT IN ITS INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY BUT SOLELY AS CERTIFICATE TRUSTEE, Plaintiff AGAINST KAZIM MOHAMMED, et al., Defendant(s) Pursuant to an Order Confi rming Referee report and Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered August 29, 2022, I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction on the Courthouse steps of the Queens Supreme Court located at 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York. on December 23, 2022 at 11:30AM, premises known as 138-01 107th Avenue, Jamaica, N.Y. 11435 All that certain plot piece or parcel of land, with the buildings and improvements erected, situate, lying and being in the Borough and County of Queens, City and State of New York, Block 10039, Lot 20. Approximate amount of judgment $749,480.92 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of fi led Judgment Index #702791/2014. The aforementioned auction will be conducted in accordance with the QUEENS County COVID-19 mitigation protocols and as such all persons must comply with social distancing, wearing masks and screening practices in effect at the time of this foreclosure sale. Foreclosure Auctions will be held “Rain or Shine”. Linda Mule, Esq., Referee Ross Eisenberg Law PLLC 445 Central Ave., Suite 112, Cedarhurst, N.Y. 11516 0005

Notice of Formation of HANLEY SUNGLASSES LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/19/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: Nate Strand, 18 W 18th St, New York, NY 10075. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of JUPITER SOCIETY BOOKS, LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/18/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: AQUILAH JOURDAIN, 144-24 VILLAGE RD, 67C, JAMAICA, NY 11435. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Real Estate

EQUAL HOUSING. Federal, New York State and local laws prohibit discrimination because of race, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, marital status, familial status or disability in connection with the sale or rental of residential real estate. Queens Chronicle does not knowingly accept advertising in violation of these laws. When you suspect housing discrimination call the Open Housing Center (the Fair Housing Agency for the five boroughs of New York) at 212-941-6101, or the New York City Commission of Human Rights Hotline at 718-722-3131. The Queens Chronicle reserves the right to alter wording in ads to conform with Federal Fair Housing regulations.

Apts.For Rent

Greenpoint, 203 Engert Ave, #2. 1 BR/1 bath w/office. $2,600/mo. Avail NOW. Heat & hot water inc. Office space, updated kit countertops, new flrs, queen-sized BR. Call Francesco Belviso, 718-570-4564. Capri Jet Realty.

Greenpoint, 3 Russell St, #2R. 1 BR/1 bath.$2,700. Brand new kit w/SS appli, dishwasher, HWF, large LR, Pergo laminate fl. Heat & hot water incl. Avail Jan 1. Call Francesco Belviso, 718-570-4564.

Capri Jet Realty

Greenpoint, 738 Humbolt St, #2. 4 BR/2 bath apt—$4,900/mo. Fully renov, new & modern kit w/SS appli & dishwasher, W/D, Central AC. Heat & water incl. Avail Jan 15. Call Agnes Siedlik, 917-288-0660.

Capri Jet Realty

Apts.For Rent

Howard Beach, 1 BR, all new, pvt entrance, kitchen w/dishwasher, LR, DR, full bath. Credit ck a must. $1,500/mo plus Gas & electric. AVAIL NOW. Call Tony 917-833-7555

Furn.Rm.For Rent

Howard Beach Furnished Room for rent: $250 per week. Males only. Gas and electric, Wi-Fi all included. Close to shopping, trans & JFK airport. Contact 347-447-1336. Call or text.

Houses For Sale

Flushing, Lg det 1 fam on 50x100 lot. Lots of potential. Zone R1-2A Duplex, 7 BRs, 3 full baths,1 half bath, full bsmnt, attic, lg wraparound porch, fenced-in yard. Quiet block. Reduced to $1.2M. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Glendale, Beautiful section of Liberty Park. 1 fam, 3 BR, 1 full bath. Updated kit, SS appli. 1 car gar. Pvt dvwy, high ceilings, laminate fls, beaut front bay window. Full fin bsmnt, storage attic, new roof. Reduced to $770,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Howard Beach/Crossbay Blvd, Avail NOW, new construction. 6,100 sqft, 240x85, 2 parking lots, zoning K1, R3-1, C2-2, overlay parking space -43 spaces. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

Howard Beach/Lindenwood, Brick attached 2 fam, great investment property. Walk-in fin bsmnt w/door to yard. 1st fl has 2 BR, 1 bath apt w/terr. 2nd fl has 1 BR, 1 bath apt w/terr. A must see! Reduced $1,148,000. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

718-205-8000

Legal Notices

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS Index No.711975/2022 Date fi led: 6/7/2022 SUMMONS

ACTION FOR QUIET TITLE TO PROPERTY SITUATED IN QUEENS COUNTY SUSAN CLEMENT, Plaintiff, -against- All the heirs at law, next of kin, distributees, devisees, grantees, trustees, lienors, creditors, assignees and successors in interest and the creditors, assignees and successors in interest thereof of the aforesaid classes of persons, if they or any of them be dead, all of whom and whose names and places of residence are unknown to the plaintiff of BLANCHE VELEZ; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Defendant(s). TO THE ABOVE DEFENDANTS: YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in this action, and to serve a copy of your Answer, or if the Complaint is not served with this Summons, to serve a Notice of Appearance on the Plaintiff’s attorneys within twenty (20) days after the service of the Summons exclusive of the day of service or within thirty (30) days after completion of service where service is made in any other manner than by personal delivery within the State. In case of your failure to appear, or answer, judgment will be taken against you by default for the relief demanded in this Complaint. Plaintiff designates Queens County as the place for trial. Venue is based upon the County in which the premises is situated. TO THE ABOVE NAMED DEFENDANTS: The foregoing Summons is served upon you by publication pursuant to an Order of the Hon. Phillip Horn, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Queens County, entered Nov. 17, 2022 and fi led with the complaint and other papers in the Queens County Clerk’s Offi ce. THE OBJECT OF THE ACTION is to quiet title to premises known as 153-06 111th Road, Jamaica, NY 11433 a/k/a Block 12167, Lot 28. Dated: June 1, 2022, Westbury, New York, Edward Wiener, Esq., Stein, Wiener & Roth, LLP Attorneys for Plaintiff, 1400 Old Country Road, Suite 315, Westbury, New York 11590 (516)-742-1212 File no. 78991 #99939

TO: Dmitry A. Shelchkov, MD, 9527 67th Avenue, Rego Park, NY 11374-5135 The State Medical Board of Ohio, 30 E. Broad Street, 3rd Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6127 In the Matter of: Dmitry A. Shelchkov, MD, 22-CRF-0214 On November 10, 2022, the State Medical Board of Ohio mailed a Notice of Opportunity for Hearing to Dmitry A. Shelchov, MD via certifi ed mail, return receipt requested, at his last known address of record, 9527 67th Avenue, Rego Park, NY 11374-5135. The Notice was returned to the Board from the postal service marked “return to sender, attempted-not known, unable to forward”. A copy of the Notice is available on the Board’s website at www.elicense.ohio.gov. The notice states that the State Medical Board of Ohio intends to determine whether or not to take action against his license to practice medicine and surgery in Ohio based on the New York Medical Board’s order which revoked his license to practice in that state. Dr. Shelchkov is entitled to a hearing in this matter if such hearing is requested within thirty (30) days of the last date of publication of this notice. Dr. Shelchkov may appear at such hearing in person, by his attorney, or by such other representative permitted to practice before this agency, or he may present his position, arguments or contentions in writing. At the hearing, Dr. Shelchkov may present evidence and examine witnesses appearing for or against him. Please contact the undersigned to ascertain the last date of publication. Any questions or correspondence should be addressed to: Jackie Moore, Case Control Offi ce, 30 E. Broad Street, 3rd Floor, Columbus, OH 43215-6127 Jackie.moore@med.ohio.gov

Notice of Formation of LovePup Training and Care LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 07/18/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: LOVEPUP TRAINING AND CARE LLC, 62-54 97TH PLACE, 12A, REGO PARK, NY 11374. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of MAMA LUNA LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/10/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: JACKLYN ZOPPI, 71-38 66TH PLACE, 2ND FLOOR, FLUSHING, NY 11385. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of Formation of Root Down Psychotherapy LCSW PLLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 09/21/2022. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail a copy of process to: THE PLLC, 24-37 24TH ST, ASTORIA, NY 11102. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of SIM SWIMMS LLC. Art. Of Org. fi led with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 08/05/22. Offi ce in Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail process to the LLC, 11534 227TH ST, CAMBRIA HEIGHTS, NY, 11411. Purpose: Any lawful purpose

THE ROCKAWAY RETREAT, LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 11/22/22. Offi ce: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 500 Mamaroneck Avenue, Suite 301, Harrison, NY 10528. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - COUNTY OF QUEENS U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON MORTGAGE SECURITIES CORP., CSMC MORTGAGE-BACKED PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-1, V. ELAINE WILSON, ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated August 10, 2022, and entered in the Offi ce of the Clerk of the County of Queens, wherein U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON MORTGAGE SECURITIES CORP., CSMC MORTGAGE-BACKED PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-1 is the Plaintiff and ELAINE WILSON, ET AL. are the Defendant(s). I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction RAIN OR SHINE on the COURTHOUSE STEPS OF THE QUEENS COUNTY COURTHOUSE, 88-11 SUTPHIN BLVD., JAMAICA, NY 11435, on January 13, 2023 at 12:00PM, premises known as 144-59 176TH ST, JAMAICA, NY 11434: Block 13288, Lot 49: ALL THAT CERTAIN PLOT, PIECE OR PARCEL OF LAND, WITH THE BUILDINGS AND IMPROVEMENTS THEREON ERECTED, SITUATE, LYING AND BEING IN THE BOROUGH AND COUNTY OF QUEENS, CITY AND STATE OF NEW YORK Premises will be sold subject to provisions of fi led Judgment Index # 704555/2022. Frank Bruno, Jr., Esq. - Referee. Robertson, Anschutz, Schneid, Crane & Partners, PLLC 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, New York 11590, Attorneys for Plaintiff. All foreclosure sales will be conducted in accordance with Covid-19 guidelines including, but not limited to, social distancing and mask wearing. *LOCATION OF SALE SUBJECT TO CHANGE DAY OF IN ACCORDANCE WITH COURT/ CLERK DIRECTIVES.

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

The Mets re-signed popular leadoff hitter and centerfielder Brandon Nimmo to an eight-year, $162 million contract last Thursday. Nimmo’s timing to be a free agent could not have been any better as there was a dearth of available quality centerfielders. He clearly benefited from supply-and-demand capitalism.

An indicator of how crazy baseball economics have gotten is Nimmo will be getting over $20 million per year even though he has never been named to the National League All-Star team. Nonetheless, Nimmo has made himself into a valuable asset for the Mets because he has a high on-base percentage; is a smart baserunner even though he doesn’t steal many bags; and has worked diligently on his defense so that he now is a legitimate Gold Glove contender.

When the Mets meet the Yankees in the Subway Series, Nimmo should walk up to Aaron Judge and thank him profusely. Mets owner Steve Cohen, still smarting after watching Jacob deGrom leave Flushing to accept a lucrative long-term deal with the Texas Rangers, was not about to let Nimmo go, especially after the Yankees re-signed Judge after having lived through a lot of Sturm und Drang in 2022.

Both Nimmo and Judge made huge bets on themselves last year, and both had the best seasons of their careers in their walk years. Playing

in New York has worked for both. Interestingly, each has landed soft drink endorsements. Judge has done television commercials for Pepsi, while Nimmo has done the same for Coke. Unlike deGrom, Nimmo and Judge enjoy talking with the media and fans.

Nimmo’s upbeat personality is not an act. He has always cheerfully greeted me when I have approached him with a question. Many fans have posted on social media how he has taken the time to chat with them both when entering and leaving Citi Field.

Last September I spoke to Judge in the Yankees clubhouse for the first time in three years. I jokingly said to him, “Aaron, we haven’t seen each other in three years but I hear things have gone pretty well for you!” “I can’t complain!” he replied with a big smile. He then asked about my column and if the pandemic made that a more challenging task. That is class.

• OPEN HOUSE ARLENE PACCHIANO Broker/Owner PACCHIANO Lic. Broker Associate

The Mets signed highly touted Japanese pitcher Kodai Senga to a five-year deal over the weekend. He was sought by a number of teams because of his tough-to-hit forkball. The Mets also inked veteran starter Jose Quintana last week. All of which meant the Mets would be parting ways with free agent Chris Bassitt, who had a good record for them but did not pitch well in big games. He has signed with Toronto. Q

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

Merry Christmas • Happy Hanukkah • Happy Kwanzaa Fairfield Arms (High-Rise) Large 1 BR 6th Flr, Updated Throughout. Reduced $189K

• Saturday, Dec. 17th 2:30-4:00 pm 88-07 Shore Parkway, Unit 8 Beautiful section of Liberty Park Glendale 1 Family, 3 BRs, 1 full bath. Updated kitchen w/Quartz counters & SS appliances. I car garage constructed/cement blocks. Pvt dvwy, high ceilings, laminate fl s, beautiful front bay window w/custom tiles. Full fi n bsmnt, storage attic. New roof. Reduced To $770,000

Broad Channel • Old Howard Beach • Charming 1 family ranch style home in Howard Beach. This well-maintained home was originally a 3 BR but was converted to a 2 BR & the cedar closet has ample space. The 2nd BR is very spacious. Home features a formal living & dining room perfect for entertaining. There is plenty of counter space in the renovated kitchen that is only 5 years young; featuring SS appliances; Oak cabinets & quartz countertops. Home has full basement w/an outside entrance & full attic. Pvt dvwy that fits multiple cars & has a det 2 car garage.

closets. Flood insurance yearly premium is $1,639.00. Connexion REAL ESTATE 161-14A Crossbay Blvd., Howard Beach (Brother’s Shopping Ctr.) 718-845-1136

Beautiful open fl oor plan: living room, kit w/granite countertops, cherrywood cabinets & center island, 1/2 bath, larger master BR with 1/2 bath, sliding doors to balcony. 2 more BR, 1 with 1/2 bath & 1 w/large deck. Hardwood fl oors & tiled floors thru out. Upper & lower decks, pool, hot tub, new pavers, sunset awning, large basement w/play room, laundry room, split unit AC, & lots of CENTURY 21 AMIABLE II ©2022 M1P • CAMI-081423 • Broad Channel • Raised home, newly renovated, new windows, hardwood fl oors, low flood insurance. 2 BR could be a 3rd BR or offi ce. Radiant heat in the bathroom, kitchen heater under the kitchen sink. Driveway, plenty of storage underneath the home. Walk to stores, parks, tennis courts, library, 5 minute drive to Rockaway Beach & ferry, 15 minutes to JFK, near express bus to Manhattan. CONNEXIONREALESTATE.COM FREE MARKET EVALUATION

CO-OPS FOR SALE HOWARD BEACH/LINDENWOOD

Fairfield Arms (High-Rise) Large 2 BRs, 2 Baths, All New Carpeting. Reduced $228K

Fairfield Arms (High-Rise) 3 BRs Converted from 2 BRs, 2 Full Baths, Newly Renovated Lobby & All 6 Flrs. Reduced $260K

ARLE NE E English / Habla Espanol & Italiano Spoken Here Get Your House SOLD ! Contact O Call For Appointment!

Ardsley Building (High-Rise) On 6th Floor, 2 BRs, 2 Full Baths, Dining Rm / Dining Area and Galley Kitchen. Reduced $245K Fairfield Arms 1 BR / Bath, Needs TLC. $169K

GLENDALE HOWARD BEACH LINDENWOOD

Available Now - New Construction, 6,100 sq. ft., 240x85, 2 Parking Lots, Zoning K1, R3-1, C2-2 Overlay Parking Spaces - 43 Spaces. Contact Offi ce 718-845-1136 /

Ardsley Building Beautiful 1 BR Co-op With Terrace. Small dog allowed 30% D.P. required. “Just Move-In” Asking $219K

HOWARD BEACH / CROSSBAY BLVD. FLUSHING

Carlton (High-Rise) 1 BR / 1 Bath, Needs TLC $168K

Brick Attached 2 FamilyGreat Investment Property, Walk-in Fin Basement with Door to Yard. 1st Floor Has 2 BR, 1 Bath Apt. with Terrace, 2nd Floor Has 1 BR, 1 Bath Apt. with Terrace. A Must See!!! Reduced $1,148,000 Large Detached 1 Family Home on 50x100 Lot, A Lot of Potential, Zone R1-2A Duplex, 7 Bedrooms, 3 Full Baths, 1 Half Bath, Full Basement, Attic, Large Wraparound Porch, Fenced In Yard. Quiet Block Reduced To $1.2M

Formal Dining Rm/ Living Rm, Asking $759,000

Split Level on 40’x100’ - Open Floor Plan, Rm CLOSED Princeton Garden Co-op Mint AAA, 2 BRs, Formal Dining Rm, Open Floor Plan Asking $298K

D CONR-081428