Queens Chronicle South Edition 12-29-22

Mental health advos pan mayor’s policy

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Mayor Adams’ initiative aimed at bringing “action, care and compassion” to homeless people experiencing mental health crises has some wondering just how much good it can do.

The Chronicle spoke with Dr. Roy Aranda, a Woodside-based psychologist who previously served as the president of the New York State Psychological Association, and representatives for the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit filed against the city aimed at eliminating police response in situations of mental health crisis, all of whom question the initiative.

In press availability following last month’s announcement that the city would make a commitment to admitting to hospitals, voluntarily or not, homeless people experiencing mental health crises that display “an inability to meet basic living needs, even when no recent dangerous act has been observed,” Adams said training for officers and Mobile Crisis Teams would begin as early as that same day. The Mayor’s Office did not respond to multiple requests for comment on what exactly that training might be.

Aranda said it should be extensive.

“They need a combination of books, lecturing, in-class kinds of teaching, contact with mental health professionals who can educate them, they need contact in the area of risk management: learning, basically, how to do a mental health assessment,” he said.

Aranda also says field work with a trained partner should be instituted, as a means of

Psych: extensive training or no cops

temporary restraining order on the mayor’s initiative was converted into a request for a preliminary injunction, and that a decision is expected sometime this winter.

“This new policy goes from unconstitutional, illegal, really bad, to worse,” she said.

fragile mental state could be long lasting. Aranda says most taken in under this initiative will actually end up worse for wear.

making sure those on the front lines are experienced in actually dealing with those having mental health crises, with the training they would have received after going through Aranda’s prescribed regiment.

“In my opinion, this should be something that’s done routinely,” he said. “At the front end, you have to have some beginning of it, and on the very front [lines], I don’t think you should have your inexperienced cops and EMS be the ones that are running point.”

The class-action lawsuit asks for an end to police intervention on mental health crisis calls entirely, and was filed in response to policies enacted before the state’s “basic needs” interpretation of the Mental Hygiene Law and the mayor’s directive. Marinda van Dalen, senior staff attorney for the New York Lawyers for the Public Interest group that is part of the team representing the plaintiffs, says the request for a

Matt Kudish, chief executive officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness New York City Metro division that is listed as one of the plaintiffs in the suit, says his concerns are not coming from a place of anti-police sentiment, but instead a desire to keep police focused on the situations for which they have extensive training: matters of public safety.

“With the move that the Mayor is making now, to have people involuntarily hospitalized, in my view, he’s essentially asking the police officers to use social work skills,” he said.

“I’ve heard they said, ‘Well, the police may not even take someone away when they see them initially, even if they think it may be appropriate for them to be involuntarily hospitalized. Maybe they’ll come back and check on them in a couple days.’ Why is this a function of police? There’s a whole masters-level, accredited, licensed career path that provides people with the skills required to do those jobs effectively,” he added.

Kudish says forced mental health treatment is never going to be as effective as voluntary treatment, and the traumatic effects of a dramatic intervention on someone already in a

“When someone gets picked up, you want to have a person who has a generally good encounter and positive relationship with someone who they perceive to be a caretaker,” he said. “If I’m the caretaker and I’m trying to take somebody, say like, ‘I want to offer you shelter. I want to bring you to a facility where a doctor can examine you to see how you are, maybe you can be safe for a few days.’ You want to develop this kind of a trusting relationship, and by just forcing somebody who doesn’t want to do this, you’re shattering that. You’re making them more resistant and reluctant to have interactions with EMS, with police, or anyone who approaches them.”

“They may be more turned off, more pissed off, more hardened,” he added. “If they’re younger people with suicidal ideation, it may bring them to the brink of taking their lives. You could see an increase in problems rather than a resolution of problems if you don’t have some sort of a logical follow-up protocol.”

When asked if the initiative will include any effort to continue service post-discharge, a spokesperson from the Mayor’s Office pointed to several initiatives the administration has undertaken aimed at combatting the homelessness and mental health crises, including the “Housing for Health” program, which will connect homeless people who had been cycling in and out of hospitals to supportive housing.

Woodside-based psychologist Roy Aranda, left, NAMI-NYC CEO Matt Kudish and NYLPI Senior Staff Attorney Marinda van Dalen.

PHOTOS COURTESY ROY ARANDA, LEFT, AND NYLPI

Redrawn but resilient in S. Queens YEAR IN REVIEW 2022

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

South Queens was in for some pivotal shifts from the start of the year, especially as a redistricting year hacked up districts long held by incumbent elected officials.

Tragedies struck near and far, like the devastating Twin Peaks fire in the Bronx that District 27 in South Queens banned together for, and then closer to home with the deadly Richmond Hill fire.

The war in Ukraine waged on but communities here joined forces to send aid there, too.

The start to another scary year for the Sikh community commenced with attacks on three men near the gurdwara. As always, resiliency and environmental efforts continued, with plenty more dollars and activism to continue for years to come.

January

The city welcomed in the new year with a plateauing of Covid cases and hospitalizations following the holiday season.

Up were revenues from the newly legalized mobile sports betting. The state opened online betting early January and quickly hit record highs ahead of the Super Bowl. There were more than 8 million bets placed and $37 million in tax revenue generated in the first weekend. The movement toward bringing this to New York was led by state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach).

Newly elected Councilwoman Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) outlined her 100-day plan for her new role. At the top of the list was meeting with the commanding officers of the local precincts, school principals, Mayor Adams, leaders from several religious groups and the volunteer

fire departments. She wanted religious leaders to know that the NYPD can be deployed to their houses of worship to ease fears.

Two days after a deadly fire tore through a Bronx apartment building, Phoebe Grant-Robinson, principal of the Randolph Holder School for Social Justice, PS 253, organized a donation drive that united District 27 in an effort to assist survivors. More than 20 schools participated in the “D27 SCEWP’s it up & Delivers” drive.

The suspect in a Sikh attack at John F. Kennedy Airport was arrested by Port Authority police and charged with a hate crime.

Ariola was named chair of the Committee on Fire and Emergency Management following a deadly fire in the Bronx and several others in Queens. She was also assigned to the Committee on Public Safety, as the city mourned the death NYPD Officers Jason Rivera and Wilbert Mora.

Mayor Adams’ Blueprint to End Gun Violence followed shortly after and called for a multipronged approach including law enforcement, social service and mental health components as well as revisiting state laws.

Barbara McNamara and Phyllis Inserillo were elected to be co-presidents of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association.

The Queens Chef Project was launched at the end of the month by former Queens resident Drew Kerr with help from numerous community partners who put a spotlight on great cuisine throughout the borough by highlighting sentimental treasures tucked away in places like Neir’s, Queens Bully, Masala Box and more.

February

The state Senate and Assembly passed new congressional lines, which, for South

Queens, shifted Howard Beach from the district of Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn, Queens) to that of Rep. Greg Meeks (D-Queens, Nassau).

Keeping up with the environmental resiliency and flooding mitigation efforts remained top of mind for many in the area.

“We worked hard with Hakeem for the last 10 years,” New Hamilton Beach Civic Association President Roger Gendron told the Chronicle.

Ozone Park resident Iris Rodriguez-Rosa was named the first deputy commissioner of the NYC Parks Department. She had previously served as chief of Queens recreation and had more than 35 years with the agency.

Community leaders and elected officials celebrated the completion of a $5.5 million resiliency project in Broad Channel that will increase preparedness on the low-lying island in the event of another emergency.

The Broad Channel Athletic Club site and the neighboring American Legion Hall served as one of the first resource centers in the area after Superstorm Sandy. The area got a new building set above flood level with meeting and storage space and power equipment to enable the facility to provide outdoor relief services. Improved lighting will allow for tents, food distribution and staging areas.

The Legion hall improvements included flood-resistant doors, elevated mechanical and electrical systems and upgraded HVAC systems so the facility can be used as a heating or

cooling center in extreme weather.

“Scared, confused people who didn’t have telephones or any idea what was going on, were able to come here and get information and food,” said Dan Mundy Jr., president of the Broad Channel Civic Association.

BCAC Director Leo Chavanne said, “[Veteran] Steve Albert and everyone from the American Legion opened up their doors, but there was nowhere for us to put all the supplies.” Now, they have the room.

Community Board 9 called on newly elected City Council members to revisit plans for the proposed closing of Rikers Island and the switch to borough-based jails. The board sent a letter with a “reconceived Rikers” plan, which includes outdoor space, gyms, art and science programs and skills-training programs. Another focus is low-rise buildings instead of the current towering structures.

Progress continued on ridding Jamaica Bay of derelict boats thanks to partnerships between the National Park Service and local advocates including Gendron and Dan Mundy Sr. and Jr. of the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers. A monstrosity in Hawtree Basin and then another in Roxbury Cove were tackled.

March

Sherry Algredo was voted in as the new chair of Community Board 9 on International Women’s Day. Kenny Wilson, whom she beat and succeeded, was elected first vice chair.

Algredo said her 18-year-old autistic son is her “inspiration,” and her daughter, who is 14, is interested in politics.

“I want to show her that, as a woman of a different ethnicity, win or lose, we can stand up against the odds and do anything,” she said.

Algredo is from Trinidad and Tobago and was recognized as the first female community board chair to come from there.

In the course of one week, the South Queens community and beyond joined forces to pull off a massive drive that collected three trucks’ worth of goods to ship to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. Efforts were led by the Ozone Park Residents Block Association and Forest Hills resident Dmitriy Gostev, who is Ukrainian and still has ties there. Donations came from Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato’s (D-Rockaway Park) office, state Attorney General Letitia James and schools including pre-Ks throughout District 27, John Adams High School, the High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture, PS 63, PS 64, JHS 202 and JHS 210.

A 16-year-old and a 17-year-old were stabbed outside of John Adams High School on March 15 and a 20-year-old Ozone Park continued on page 6

Divers drain an abandoned boat in Hawtree Basin, preparing to dismantle and remove it after years of the eyesore being there.

PHOTO BY ROGER GENDRON

The Phagwah Parade returned to Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue in Little Guyana in Richmond Hill for Holi for the first time since the start of the pandemic. PHOTO BY DANIEL COFFARO HILL

Despite adversities near and far, community carries on

In March, Sherry Algredo, left, was voted in as chair of Community Board 9, succeeding Kenichi Wilson.

PHOTO BY DEIRDRE BARDOLF

How To Get Rid of Knee Pain Once and For All... Without Drugs, Shots or Surgery

Living with knee pain can feel like a crippling experience.

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South Queens in 2022

woman and a 16-year-old male were arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

Construction began on PS 47 in Broad Channel, which will replace the former location damaged in Superstorm Sandy.

The Phagwah Parade returned to Lefferts Boulevard and Liberty Avenue in Little Guyana in Richmond Hill on March 26 for the Hindu holiday Holi for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

April

On April 2, the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps Unit NY-20151 cadets from John Adams High School volunteered for a cleanup under the abandoned Babbage and Bessemer streets train tracks. They picked up trash and painted. It helped a portion of the area, which is still very much in need of attention. Kevin O’Leary led the Queens Chronicle on a walkthrough of the area that same month and called attention to dangerous track conditions on the old tracks and unsanitary conditions below. There were apparent encampments underneath the tracks in a fenced-off area that is supposed to be closed to the public. Working with the MTA and the city Department of Transportation to deal with the area remains a focus of O’Leary and the board.

The Redhawk Robotics team at the High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture in Ozone Park set out to raise $30,000 for get to the World Championships in Houston. They raised it through a GoFundMe page and by petitioning local leaders and community groups. They would go on to make Queens even more proud by winning the Rookie Inspiration Award later in the month. Engineering teacher and team mentor Mohammed Hossain said the team was the only one from the city and one of two New York State teams to pick up an award at the competition.

“After the championships, the students have come back with so many new ideas that we plan on executing within our school and community,” he said.

U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced over $18 million was secured for the Stony Creek Marsh Island restoration, west of Broad Channel.

A Raymour & Flanigan replaced the old Modell’s Sporting Goods store on Rockaway Boulevard, which was formerly the Cross Bay Theatre and later United Artists.

Three Sikh men were attacked on the same block in Richmond Hill within two weeks of each other.

The assailants removed religious headwear from the men and stole their money. Hezekiah Coleman, 20, who police believed was squatting at a nearby house on Lefferts Blvd., and Vernon Douglas, 19, were arrested and charged for the crimes.

Community Board 9 board welcomed new board members including its youngest, Daniel Coffaro Hill, 16, of the Cityline Ozone Park Civilian Patrol. He was one of only three teens appointed by Queens Borough President Donovan Richards.

May

On May 2, Politico published a leaked draft majority opinion indicating that the Supreme Court had voted to overturn the landmark 1973 Court ruling that established abortion as a constitutional right. Queens residents and elected officials rallied together in support of Roe vs. Wade as the state prepared for an influx of those in need of abortion services from other states.

On May 4, 51-year-old mother Anna Torres was shot dead in the doorway of her home on 109th Avenue in Ozone Park. Giuseppe Canzani, a 41-year-old Department of Transportation worker from Howard Beach, turned himself in. Torres was reportedly a tarot card reader and he a repeat customer.

“She was the sweetest person in the world,” her husband, David Aguilar, told CBS New York. “I’m lost without her.”

The Ozone Park Residents Block Association later held a press conference outside Torres’ home demanding action from elected officials regarding several shootings in the area.

Adams appointed former area Councilman Eric Ulrich as commissioner of the Department of Buildings but that would not stand for long.

Beach lovers protested over news that a portion of the Rockaway Peninsula would be closed from Memorial Day to the end of July because of a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers groin construction project. The city ended up opening the prime strip of beach in time for the holiday weekend.

The redistricting saga continued with the proposed state Senate maps released in midMay, which came with more big changes for South Queens. They were approved finally at the end of the month and will go into effect in January 2023. Addabbo’s former district will be cut into three, taking away its southern portions. New Howard Beach will go to state Sen. Roxanne Persaud (D-Canarsie) and Old Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach will go to state Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park). Addabbo is set to move his office from Howard Beach to Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven.

“Nobody knows this community better than Joe does,” said Gendron of Addabbo back in May. Addabbo had represented the area since 2001, first in the City Council, prior to the Senate.

Addabbo, along with the community, mourned the loss of his longtime staffer Pat McCabe on May 12.

Ozone Park and the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary School community especially mourned the loss of former principal and longtime educator Sister Marguerite Torre, sister of former Yankee manager Joe Torre. She passed on May 28.

June

State lawmakers reached a deal to grant Mayor Adams two-year control of city public schools, following intense lobbying from the mayor and Schools Chancellor David Banks to lead the system for four years. The deal included changes to the Panel for Educational Policy and was tied to an additional measure to cap class sizes.

The Howard Beach Memorial Day Parade hosted by Bernard J. Coleman VFW Post 2565 returned for the first time since 2019 following a pandemic hiatus.

Gov. Hochul signed a 10-bill package of new laws in response to the mass shooting in Buffalo. They strengthened “red flag” laws and added microstamping for new semiautomatic weapons so bullets can be traced back to a gun. Social media companies would also be required to report hate speech on their platforms, and would raise the age to buy semiautomatic weapons from 18 to 21.

Capt. Jeremy Kivlin was named the new commanding officer of the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct. It marks his return to the 102, however, as he served as an executive officer for five months back in 2019. He pledged to address derelict vehicles and quality-of-life issues in a June community board meeting.

NYPD Chief Kevin Williams, a lifelong resident of Queens who has been on the force since 1996, was named commanding officer of Patrol Borough Queens South. At a June Queens Borough Board meeting, he said, “I am a true believer in high-visibility foot patrol.”

He detailed plans to increase them, one example being part of a Jamaica Avenue revitalization task force. The towing of abandoned commercial vehicles is another issue he spoke of and one that persists.

Police in the 102 and 106 warned of “Eastern European traveling theft groups” which targeted elderly people with jewelry and “family-in-distress” scams.

Tragedy struck in Jamaica Bay on June 10 when two 13-year-old friends and students at MS 137 in Ozone Park drowned in the waters near the North Channel Bridge.

Ryan Wong and Daniel Persaud were playing on a sandbar in the water off of Spring Creek Park with friends when a wave came and swept them away. A water rescue ensued and the boys were rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center but it was too late. Vigils were held for them, including one where mourners wore green, Persaud’s favorite color, and held balloons with messages written to him, which they let go to the heavens.

“We’re just going to honor Daniel’s memory,” said Persaud’s sister at the vigil.

Further tragedy struck on June 19 when a five-alarm fire tore through multiple homes South Richmond Hill, leaving three family members dead and five firefighters with minor injuries.

The Howard Beach Memorial Day Parade returned for the first time since 2019 following a pandemic hiatus.

PHOTO BY DEIRDRE BARDOLF

Three homes on 125th Street in Richmond Hill were severely damaged in a fire that took the lives of three family members in June.

PHOTO BY SOPHIE KRICHEVSKY

Winter Storm Elliot rocks South Queens

Flooding leaves destruction in its wake; officials call for fixes

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

The perfect storm, so to speak, rocked southern Queens late last week as a new moon coincided with the bomb cyclone, now known as Winter Storm Elliot, which hit the Northeast starting on Thursday.

It produced flooding reminiscent of Hurricane Irene in 2011, which hit the year before Superstorm Sandy, bringing approximate threefoot storm surges.

“The peak storm surge hit almost identical to high tide,” said Roger Gendron, president of the New Hamilton Beach Civic Association last Friday. “In Irene, the peak surge hit during low tide so we did not have the devastation that people expected.”

Hamilton Beach was inundated this time around, as well as Old Howard Beach and even parts of New Howard Beach that do not typically see the water rise in the streets. The flooding also hit from Broad Channel to the Rockaways.

Two Red Cross service centers were set up on Friday and Saturday in Howard Beach and Rockaway Beach, city Department of Emergency Management Commissioner Zachary Iscol announced at a City Hall press conference alongside the FDNY and the city Departments of Sanitation, Transportation and Environmental Protection.

An emergency resource center was set up at 430 Beach 97th Street in Arverne this week, scheduled to run through Thursday evening with city agencies on-site to answer questions and assist with applications.

Mayor Adams was not present during the press conference and First Deputy Mayor Lorraine Grillo said that he had taken two days off

but has been participating in the day’s meeting “many, many times.”

He told reporters on Tuesday that he was in the U.S. Virgin Islands and scolded them for criticizing his not coming back during a historic storm and a Staten Island fire that left two children dead.

Iscol was on the ground Friday morning in the districts of Councilmembers Joann Ariola (R-Ozone Park) and Selvena-Brooks Powers (D-Jamaica) to survey the damage and needs.

“We toured the entire district, making sure that DSNY, FDNY, DEP and all the other first responding agencies were aware of what the needs were going to be once the storm water retreated back into the bay,” Ariola said.

The tide, she said, came up a “fraction of an inch” lower than that of Hurricane Irene.

Even recently raised streets in Broad Channel took on water, said Gendron and Mike Latella, a Howard Beach resident who has 40 years of meteorology experience and worked for over a decade as a television weatherman.

“The street raising wasn’t intended to stop all flooding,” said Latella. “It was only intended to stop the average full moon high tide and it normally does. But when you have the full moon high tide and you combine that with winds that are coming onshore at the strength that they’ve been coming in today … That’s why it was so bad. I’ve heard people that had water in their houses that really haven’t had in a long time.”

PJ Marcel, head of the Howard Beach Dads Facebook group and owner of Trackside Collision, was getting calls all morning for help with abandoned cars and flooded

basements. He partnered up with the owners of Cross Bay Mechanic, who had 15 pumps ready to go to help people empty their basements.

Marcel saw one woman, who lives on 99th Street, whose car and basement full of Christmas presents was wrecked.

As for the cars, once the floor panels get wet, “that’s it,” he said.

Pictures of cars with water up to the hoods flooded Facebook. The Rockaway Times posted fish swimming in flooded living spaces and retweeted what is believed to be part of a recently autopsied whale that washed up into the streets. It is thought to be the one found on the shore in Arverne two weeks ago.

Flooding retreated on Friday and the winds shifted from blowing inland.

The tide that evening was not of concern but the drop in temperatures was, as they were set to near 10 degrees overnight. Latella and Marcel recommended keeping at least a steady drip coming to pre-

vent pipes from freezing.

“I think phase two of this, with the low temperatures and the high winds, could bring us other issues like downed power lines, downed trees,” Ariola feared on Friday. “The ice is really going to be a problem.”

She said the Sanitation Department is out in “full force” salting the streets.

Gov. Hochul noted the treacherous ice conditions when she was in the Rockaways on Christmas Eve.

Iscol said that around 700 salt spreaders were being deployed across the city to combat black ice and that the Joint Transportation Management Center, operated by the NYPD and the DOT, was activated to handle any traffic issues including power outages that could lead to traffic signals going out.

Emergency Service Unit trucks were also out, Iscol said, and facilitated non-life-threatening rescues Friday morning.

Sanitation is providing expanded

service to Queens residents impacted by the storm. It is collecting debris and damaged household items through New Year’s Day, outside of its regular pickup dates.

“DSNY continues to collect storm debris in areas affected by last week’s flooding,” the agency posted on Twitter.

“If you have damaged items, set them out when you are able — our workers will pick them up and help get our City back to normal.”

After New Year’s Eve, DSNY will reassess and provide further updates, Ariola’s office shared on social media.

Top of mind for many is how to prevent storms like this from wrecking such havoc on coastal communities.

“If they built my floodgates, we wouldn’t have this problem,” said Gendron, who has advocated for the US Army Corps of Engineers to build coastal flood gates around Jamaica Bay, for which a project

The intersection of 160th Avenue and 99th Street heading into Hamilton Beach frequently floods and was inundated on Friday morning after Winter Storm Elliott collided with the high tide.

PHOTO BY PJ MARCEL

Flooding brought on by Winter Storm Elliott last Friday morning can be seen on 96th Street in Old Howard Beach, left, and 163rd Road and Davenport Court in Hamilton Beach. Three feet of water filled the streets in some areas as the winter bomb cyclone storm hit at the same time as the morning’s high tide.

PHOTOS BY GREGG COHEN, LEFT, JACOB ZUNIGA AND ROGER GENDRON

EDITORIAL AGEP

Who was that Queens street corner named for?

Few people have the impact on their city and nation that Francis Lewis did, having been a signer of the Declaration of Independence representing New York in the Continental Congress. The wealthy merchant and lawmaker paid a high price for his defiance, as the British destroyed his estate in Whitestone, took his wife captive and treated her so poorly in prison that she died soon after being released. Today, however, it’s likely that few who drive down the boulevard bearing his name give much thought to who he was.

That’s probably also the case for Horace Harding, a banker who personally commissioned engineering studies to get a highway built across Queens to Nassau County — to speed up his ride to his country club. It did get built, and was named Horace Harding Boulevard after he died. When the Long Island Expressway was imposed atop it, Harding’s name was relegated to the superhighway’s service roads.

More may know Guy R. Brewer, namesake of the former New York Boulevard in Jamaica, both because the pioneering Black politician and real estate agent had a great impact on his community and because he lived much more recently.

Today, you don’t see the actual renaming of streets; instead you see the honorary co-naming of them, usually of

a single intersection. Communities and officials have decided the co-namings are a great way to provide a lasting tribute to worthy people. Some were heroes, often in uniform, some were civic leaders, many suffered a tragic end.

Here is a look at just some of those who were honored in 2022 and where to find their names in white upon green.

Capt. Thomas Abbey, 82nd Place and 64th Road in Middle Village, not only a motorcycle cop but a pilot in both world wars, who was killed on a rescue mission in 1943.

Det. Raymond Abear, 164th Place and Goethals Avenue in Jamaica Hills, also a policeman, who served with the Special Victims Unit and died at 43 of Covid-19 in April 2020.

Det. Brian Simonsen, Jamaica Avenue and 118th Street in Richmond Hill, an officer killed by friendly fire as police thwarted a store robbery in February 2019.

Sarah Whiting, Holly Avenue and Robinson Street in Flushing, a civic and civil rights activist who founded the afterschool program at PS 24 and served in many groups.

Jimmy Heath, 34th Avenue and 114th Street in Corona, a jazz master who played sax with the likes of Miles Davis and founded the jazz program at Queens College.

Rita Persaud, 103rd Avenue and 92nd Street in Ozone

Park, a singer who emigrated from Guyana, who was active in her mandir and was killed in a car crash in 2020.

Don Capalbi, 58th Avenue and 136th Street in Flushing, a civic leader who fought to preserve his area and improve traffic safety, and served as a liaison for Rep. Grace Meng.

Joseph Magnus, 75th Street and 58th Avenue in Middle Village, a Czechoslovak immigrant who hid from the Nazis as a boy and here founded a volunteer ambulance corps.

Bill McCreary, 219th Street and 120th Avenue in Cambria Heights, an Emmy Award-winning newscaster who was on Fox 5 for decades and mentored other journalists.

Lorraine Elliot, Rockaway and Lefferts boulevards in South Ozone Park, a crossing guard who pushed children away from a car in 1980 but was hit and mortally injured.

Det. Anastasios Tsakos, the Francis Lewis Boulevar d bridge over the LIE, an officer killed by an alleged drun k driver while he was attending to a fiery crash in 2021. His case differs as the state formally named the bridge for him.

We reported on all these co-namings and more when they occurred, and are sure 2023 will see many further tributes to people we hope will be remembered, as long as their names endure in those crisp white letters on clean green fields.

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

A beacon of hope

Dear Editor:

MARK WEIDLER

Office:

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

E-mail: Mailbox@qchron.com Website: www.qchron.com

light for those who have the privilege of having it as our favorite newspaper, and those who need comfort and motivation.

Incarcerated people freezing

Dear Editor:

As we evaluate Susan Merzon’s life, legacy, examples and achievements, I could not hold back tears, marveling at the power and life of this unique and powerful woman. Despite her multiple hardships and challenges, she grew the Chronicle, Queens leading weekly newspaper, into nine separate editions, each tailored for diverse regions of Queens. Like clockwork, new editions of the Chronicle are distributed at more than 950 locations throughout the borough, without excuse or failure, never compromising on its high quality, and bringing different neighborhood news, while reaching a total circulation of 160,000, and 400,000 readers.

Founded since November 1978 Susan Merzon’s ability, and her successors’, to keep the paper free, is a tremendous achievement. Its quality is a tribute to its remarkable staff, especially her son, Mark Weidler, who has been at the helm since 2000, and its conscientious Editor-in-Chief, Peter Mastrosimone. Like the proverbial Phoenix, The Queens Chronicle rose again from a devastating fire in 1994, to even more towering heights, built block by block, by these worthy founders and successors.

The Queens Chronicle is a compelling and legendary embodiment of courage, perseverance and triumph over overwhelming odds, hands on, and will remain a beacon of hope and

71-19 80th St., Suite 8-201, Glendale, NY 11385.

Baldeo State Assembly District Leader, President of Richmond Hill Democratic Club Richmond Hill

Albert

Sticky mailboxes in KG too!

Dear Editor:

We’ve had sticky mailboxes in Kew Gardens too. Right in front of our post office. I reported it to the branch manager and the problem gets taken care of. My advice: Always feel the mail slot for sticky substances. Better yet, send bill payments and gift cards electronically.

Scott Avidon Kew Gardens

Last week, on the day when Governo r Hochul declared New York to be in a state of emergency due to the expected frigid weather, I wondered what preparations were being made for the thousands of incarcerated people at the Rikers Island jail complex. Nighttime temperatures are now regularly below 30 degrees and Rikers, with its broken windows and being on the water, will feel much colder. These kinds of temperatures should concern the Department of Corrections and Commissioner Molina enough to be proactive in providing thermal underwear, socks, sweatshirts and heavy jackets. With each incarcerated person costing $500,000 each, surely there is money in the budget to provide for warmth. ©

LETTERSTO THE EDITOR

I am a formerly incarcerated woman who lived in prison during the cold with no heat. I was lucky to be able to purchase hats, gloves, sweatshirts and thermal underwear. But despite wearing layers of clothes, I was chilled to my bones.

It was my personal experience and last year’s brutal winter that inspired my nonprofit, Witness to Mass Incarceration, to raise $45,000 to provide all 5,600 incarcerated people with hats, gloves and socks. Six foundations and 265 individuals donated for this cause.

We asked for and received permission from the Rikers Island staff to provide all 5,600 incarcerated people with hats, gloves and socks. Thirty-seven boxes containing sets of hats, gloves and socks were delivered on March 17. I was told by Commissioner Molina and Director of Special Projects Allie Robertson that the items were distributed. However, several incarcerated people told me they never received these items. Certainly, if the items were not given out last year, the officials had plenty of advanced weather warnings to give them out.

Evie Litwok Manhattan

MTA adjustments will work

Dear Editor:

Re Michael Gannon’s Dec. 22 report “Queens subways gain, lose in MTA proposal”: on minor subway service adjustments next summer failed to explain that these are routine service adjustments that NYC Transit scheduling staff regularly implement. These changes better match service levels with demand. As news reports have pointed out, subway ridership is notably lower on Mondays and Fridays. Ridership on weekends continues to gradually return. It’s not unreasonable to make small reductions in frequency on lower ridership days and reallocate those resources to more crowded times on weekends. Remember the net change is only $1.5 million in an operating budget of well over $1.0 billion.

Steve Strauss Forest Hills

Mr. Strauss is a retired NYC Transit employee.

Happy birthday, Archer Ave.

Dear Editor:

On Dec. 22, 1988, the Archer Avenue subway line opened. The price tag was $440 million. This was paid for by a grant from the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, after 1991 known as the Federal Transit Administration.

One benefit of the Archer Avenue subway three-stop extension was a direct connection from the Jamaica Long Island Rail Road Station to the NYC Transit subway system. When service disruptions take place on the LIRR between Jamaica and Penn Station or the

future Grand Central Madison, LIRR riders have an alternative route for traveling: the E subway line. Eight of nine LIRR branches connect at Jamaica. Only the North Shore Port Washington branch does not. Jamaica also provides a low-cost direct connection for Kennedy Airport via the AirTrain.

The Archer Avenue subway extension also permitted removal of the Jamaica Avenue El between the 168th Street and 121st Street stations. This opened up Jamaica Avenue to sunlight and new development. Introduction of the Z subway line on the Jamaica Avenue El supported introduction of skip-stop service during rush hour. This results in both the J and Z line providing a faster trip to Broadway Junction, East New York, Williamsburg and Downtown Manhattan, including Wall Street.

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.

A positive new year I

Dear Editor:

Now as 2023 is approaching, it is time that many of us are thinking about New Year’s resolutions. In 2022 we were faced with Covid-19, RSV and the Flu. We were also faced with acts of crime, guns on the street, an influx of migrants and homelessness. This list can go on and on. Now what can the average person do? To begin with, get vaccinated to prevent illness. Another resolution I have is to for those who can to donate to food kitchens, food pantries, and to donate blood because there is a shortage in all these important areas. Another resolution I have is to volunteer to those various community groups that are dedicated to helping those in need.

In 2023 we should dedicate ourselves to acts of kindness to our neighbors with special needs. I truly believe that it is the good of the many that outweighs the good of the one. So, let us all make 2023 a banner year to helping the many in need. Let 2023 stand for the year of kindness.

Frederick R. Bedell Jr. Bellerose

A positive new year II

Dear Editor:

Pay yourself by feeling positive. It’s literally like giving yourself a gift. And positive thoughts multiply!

Chase happiness like a huge rainbow. Enjoy the present moment, and tomorrow will take care of itself. Build a life you love by following your heart. Seize the moment! Build sunshine out of shadows. Speak highly of yourself and soar. Happy New Year!

Eva Tortora Staten Island

Santos owns up to some allegations

Repubs. say he broke public trust; Nassau DA

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

Republicans broke their silence this week after Congressman-elect George Santos (R-Nassau, Queens) on Monday owned up to some of the allegations made in The New York Times’ Dec. 19 story about his falsified resume and questionable financials and in subsequent reporting.

Santos, who is set to be sworn into office next week, told the New York Post in an exclusive interview that he does not intend to resign, despite numerous calls for him to do so.

“I am not a criminal,” Santos said. “This [controversy] will not deter me from having good legislative success. I will be effective. I will be good.”

“My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry,” Santos said Monday.

In the days immediately following The Times’ first story on the matter, most of those looking to see Santos investigated by the House Ethics Committee and other entities were Democrats. But because even after the congressman-elect addressed the allegations Monday — a week after the story broke — questions raised by the media remain unanswered, Republicans have begun to do so, as well.

Nassau District Attorney Anne Donnelly, a Republican, opened an investigation into Santos Wednesday afternoon, according to Newsday.

Congressman-elect Nick LaLota (R-Suffolk) said a House Ethics Committee investigation into Santos was warranted, and possibly by law enforcement, as well. “Over the last few weeks I have heard from countless Long Islanders how deeply troubled they are by the headlines surrounding George Santos,” he said in a statement. Later, he continued, “New Yorkers deserve the truth and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without this distraction.”

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman told Newsday that the House Ethics Committee “should do a thorough investigation.”

Councilmember Vickie Paladino (R-Whitestone), who campaigned for Santos throughout the fall, did not call for an inves-

tigation, but said she was “deeply disappointed.”

“I am saddened not only because he deceived us all, but because these lies were completely unnecessary,” she said in a statement shared with the Chronicle, noting that Santos won the seat by eight points. “Sadly, George has done a great deal of damage to his credibility here and we don’t know what the future holds. I hope he has finally come clean and has the opportunity to repair his trust with the community.”

Nassau County Republican Committee Chair Joe Cairo made his distaste for Santos’ lies clear. “He has a lot of work to do to regain the trust of the voters and everyone who he represents in Congress,” he said in a statement.

“I am deeply disappointed in Mr. Santos, and I expected more than just a blanket apology.”

Santos admitted to the Post that he did not have a college degree, despite having previously said that he graduated from Baruch College.

“I didn’t graduate from any institution of higher learning. I’m embarrassed and sorry for having embellished my resume,” he said. “I own up to that … We do stupid things in life.”

He also said that he did not work for either Goldman Sachs or Citigroup, but said he worked with those firms during his time at Link Bridge.

The Times also reported that Santos has been evicted twice. The congressman-elect said that, when he was evicted from his family’s home in Sunnyside, the family was in debt as his mother battled cancer. “We were engulfed in debt,” he told the Post. “We had issues paying rent at the time. It’s the vulnerability of being human. I am not embarrassed by it.” He added that he had never paid that off.

Yet, even as he admitted to several of the allegations made by The New York Times, referring to The Times and the media at large,

Bit o’ bad luck above HB

opens investigation

Santos misled voters about his Jewish ancestry. The congressman-elect has said his grandparents had sought refuge in Brazil from Jewish persecution in Europe during World War II, but the Forward found both of those grandparents were born in Brazil more than a decade before the war began. Asked about that, Santos told the Post, “I never claimed to be Jewish.”

“I am Catholic. Because I learned my maternal family had a Jewish background I said I was ‘Jew-ish.’”

But Tuesday, the Forward reported that, in documents shared with Jewish and pro-Israel leaders, Santos claimed to be “a proud American Jew.”

“‘As a proud American Jew’ is NOT = ‘Jew-ish.’ These two are not the same,” Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) tweeted Tuesday.

he said on WABC Monday, “To go out there and say I’m some fictional character who just showed up and ran and now I’m a Russian asset — this is not journalism. This is attacking a human being.”

Asked about his claims that employees at his company had died in the Pulse Nightclub shooting during an interview on City & State’s “Political Personalities with Skye” Monday, Santos said, “We did have people who were being hired ... to work for the company that was starting up in Orlando.”

City & State asked Santos about his financial record, which, as The Times reported, suggested he came into a significant amount of wealth between his run in 2020 and in 2022. He left Harbor City Capital in 2021, “And it just worked, because I had the relationships and I started making a lot of money. And I fundamentally started building wealth. And I decided I’d invest in my race for Congress.”

“There’s nothing wrong with that, no criminal conduct, no anything of the sort.”

The Forward had reported last week that

Mental health

That struck a chord with Republicans, too. Congressman-elect Anthony D’Esposito (R-Suffolk) said in a statement Tuesday that Long Island residents are “deeply hurt and rightly offended by the lies and misstatements” made by Santos. “His fabrications regarding the Holocaust and his family’s history are particularly hurtful.While Santos has taken a required first step by ‘coming clean’ with respect to his education, work experience, and other issues, he must continue to pursue a path to honesty.”

Former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard spoke to that in an interview with Santos on the Tucker Carlson Show Tuesday. “Do you have no shame?” she asked. “Do you have no shame in — the people who now you’re asking to trust to go and be their voice for them, their families and their kids in Washington?”

In response, Santos deflected, directing attention to President Biden, whom he said has “been lying to the American people for 40 years.”

Questions still remain about the accuracy of Santos’ campaign finance filings and where he currently lives. He did not respond to the Chronicle’s requests for comment. Q

continued from page 2 Residents around Howard Beach were startled by several loud bangs on Saturday morning, but probably less so than the passengers aboard a flight that had to make an emergency return to John F. Kennedy Airport after a “technical issue.”

“Aer Lingus confirmed that flight EI106 from JFK to Dublin yesterday evening was cancelled due to a technical issue with the aircraft,” Irish news outlet Independent.ie reported a spokesperson for the airline said.

One passenger told RTÉ Ireland that she saw big flashes and flames from the engine.

The airline said it was working to ensure

all customers departed New York by the evening of Dec. 25 and apologized for the disruption of Christmas plans. Irish soccer player Jamie Finn, however, tweeted that they did not get home in time for Christmas and no flight was available till the 26th.

Meanwhile on the ground, one Facebook user in the group Howard Beach Dads wrote, “Wow that sound was scary.” Others were looking for answers and eventually shared the Irish news articles. One member said, “It shook my house.”

Another wrote, “Imagine those passengers, the terror that they experienced.” Q

Among the other items cited were a $171 million investment in Safe Haven and stabilization beds for the 2023 fiscal year, the activation of 20 new intensive mobile treatment teams and an investment in the expansion of the city’s clubhouse program.

In the immediate, Aranda and Kudish say any initiative that does not include direct access to services post-discharge will leave patients in the same position as they were prehospitalization.

“Even if they are admitted, after you sedate them a little bit, medicate them, give

them some proper medical care and attention, a few days later, they’ll be out in the streets again,” Aranda said. “Why? Because they don’t have money, they don’t have income, they don’t have jobs. Whatever it is that originally put them out in the street as homeless people isn’t being addressed.”

“The way the system’s designed right now, you’re going to let them go in a few days, and you’re going to discharge them into the same exact situation they were in before,” Kudish said. “If you go to the hospital, you don’t skip out of there feeling well, saying, ‘Thanks so much, I’m going to get a job now that’s going to pay my rent for an apartment in the city.’ That’s not how it works.”

Rep.-elect George Santos admitted to some of the allegations made against him on Monday. PHOTO COURTESY SANTOS FOR CONGRESS / FILE

No more doggies in the window in NY

Legislation aims to end ‘puppy mill pipeline’ and could boost rescues

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Following Gov. Hochul signing into law a bill that will ban the sale of dogs, cats and rabbits at pet stores, one animal rescue volunteer hopes that it will push shops to work more with rescue organizations.

Paul Ferris works with MeowSquad, a trapneuter-return-focused cat rescue based in Howard Beach, and provides transportation for cats going from shelters to the vet, performs maintenance and scoops litter — lots of kitty litter.

“Hopefully these pet stores will be more open to letting in strays and/or rescue cats,” said Ferris, adding that adoption events at pet supplies stores are often a success.

Part of the legislation will also allow pet stores to charge shelters rent to use their space for adoptions.

The bill, introduced by state Senate Deputy Majority Leader Mike Gianaris (D-Astoria) and Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) seeks to end the “puppy mill pipeline.”

Puppy mills, according to the Humane Society, are “inhumane high-volume dog breeding facilities that churn out puppies for profit, ignoring the needs of the pups and their mothers.”

“For us, it’s definitely a win-win because

the cats and dogs and rabbits that are bred in puppy mills are not really the best cared for,” said Ferris.

“And the poor animals that are doing the breeding, once they can’t breed anymore, they’re basically discarded ... rescue agencies that I volunteer for have rescued dog mothers that can’t breed anymore, that just get dumped on the side of a highway,” he continued.

The legislation is set to take place in 2024.

“Dogs, cats and rabbits across New York deserve loving homes and humane treatment,” Hochul said in a prepared statement.

“I’m proud to sign this legislation, which will make meaningful steps to cut down on harsh treatment and protect the welfare of animals across the state.”

The buying and selling of animals from large-scale, abusive breeders that lack proper care often lead to the animals having health

issues that can cost families thousands of dollars in veterinary care, the statement from the Governor’s Office stated.

The pet store industry argued that the bill would put them out of business and make it harder for people to buy pets.

In a press release put out by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, Gianaris thanked the “indefatigable activists.”

“After years of advocacy, I am thrilled New York State now affords our four-legged companions the dignity they deserve,” Gianaris said. “It is my hope this is a critical step to ending the scourge of puppy mills once and for all.”

Animal welfare groups and activists applauded the move as well.

“My dog Sami was rescued from a puppy mill, where she spent two years living in a box, in the dark, without a name and she was forced to have puppies who were sold to pet stores,” said “The Sopranos” actor and animal advocate Edie Falco, who is also a lifelong New Yorker, in the ASPCA press release.

“New York will go from having one of the country’s highest concentrations of pet stores that sell puppy mill puppies to a place that refuses to be an accomplice in this cruel process,” said ASPCA President and CEO Matt Bershadker. Q

Pet stores, like this one on Austin Street in Forest Hills, will soon be banned from selling dogs, cats and rabbits, in an effort to curb inhumane treatment of the animals. PHOTO BY DEIRDRE BARDOLF

Mayor Adams and crime, one year later

Administration cites gains as 2022 ends; experts say still work to be done

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

Mayor Adams ran for office in both the Democratic primary and general election on a tough-on-crime platform; and with his first year in office drawing to a close, he claimed some significant victories in a press conference on Dec. 21.

Adams, in a transcript of his speech, said New York City still is the safest big city in America.

“Murders are down by double digits this year, and, more recently, major crimes are down on both the streets and the subways,” he said. “We knew these changes wouldn’t happen overnight, but, every day, we continue to dam the many rivers that feed the sea of violence in our city ...”

Back in January, Adams introduced his Blueprint to End Gun Violence days after Police Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera were fatally shot in Harlem. In last week’s press conference he provided impressive statistics on gun enforcement.

He said nearly 7,000 guns had been seized by the NYPD in 2022, and that gun arrests were at a 27-year high. He also noted a 17.5 percent drop in shootings and a 16.5 percent reduction in the number of shooting victims.

Last January and February, the Chronicle published a series on Adams’ gun blueprint, along with analysis from law enforcement professionals and those with expertise on the political hurdles the new mayor faced in both City Hall and Albany.

Some of those same experts this week gave their views on how Adams has done in the following 10 months.

Professor Joseph Giacalone of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice is a retired NYPD detective sergeant and former commander of the Bronx Cold Case Squad. He gave Adams’ effort on guns a positive review. He cited the return of the NYPD’s plainclothes anti-crime units — discontinued under Mayor Bill de Blasio — and subway deployments.

“Just look at the numbers, the numbers that don’t lie,” Giacalone said. “People say you can fudge numbers, but it’s very hard

to fudge murders and shootings. Homicides, you have hospitals reporting them to the [U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention]. The Medical Examiner has to keep lists, so you cannot hide bodies. And everyone who walks into a hospital with a gunshot wound, by law that’s an automatic notification to the police. You can’t hide these things.” The anti-crime units, he said, have proven their value.

“Murders are down, shootings are down. Cops deter crime,” Giacalone said. “If they aren’t being prosecuted, that’s one thing. But the guns are coming off the street. We have near-record gun seizures.”

De Blasio disbanded the anti-crime units citing, among other things, abnormally high instances of civilian complaints.

Speaking with the Chronicle back in February, Michael Krasner, a professor emeritus of political science at Queens College and co-director of the school’s Taft Institute for Government, had concerns about some of Adams’ plans, particularly with things like re-introducing the plainclothes units.

“I’m still rather skeptical,” he said Monday. He said the units appear to have seized only a fraction of the gun totals being touted by the mayor and the NYPD. He also believes the continued focus on crime may

HB family in need this season

The Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach communities are banding together for a family hit hard this holiday season.

Over the Christmas weekend, while many were celebrating, families across South Queens were dealing with the aftermath of Winter Storm Elliot and severe damage and flooding that came with it.

The Stewart family lost everything on the first floor of their home as well as their 7-year-old son’s Christmas gifts, according to the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association, which is helping to raise money for the family.

John Stewart, a firefighter with the West Hamilton Beach Volunteer Fire Department, then lost his father the day after Christmas and, the next day, his father’s sister.

“[Stewart] is always there for our community in times of need and in times of joy, offering his assistance and talents,” the civic wrote in a Facebook post. “It’s time for us to be there for John and his family.”

have played a role this November in Gov. Hochul’s uncomfortably close six-point victory over former Congressman Lee Zeldin, whose campaign themes sometimes varied very little from Adams’ statements.

Brian Browne, a political science professor at St. John’s University who serves as the school’s executive director for university relations and assistant vice president for government relations, told the Chronicle that Adams has signaled, supported and funded several good initiatives, but that major reforms have been limited, resulting in “pros and cons and allies and enemies.”

He said Adams’ no-nonsense talk on crime is consistent with what got him elected. Like Krasner, he said that was not without consequences.

“By keeping crime on the front burner, Mayor Adams has fueled the narrative that NYC is unsafe,” Browne said in an email. “So much that the ‘NYC is unsafe’ idea helped strengthen Republicans running in nearby Nassau County [congressional] seats.”

Browne, who gave Adams a grade of B for the first year, pointed out that other major crime categories combined skyrocketed by just under 23 percent as of CompStat numbers through Dec. 25.

Giacalone, who gave Adams an

A-minus, said that actually could provide an opportunity for the mayor in 2023.

“If he can bring those numbers down, especially the grand larcenies, he can be in a very good position on crime,” Giacalone said. He said the reason Adams did not get an A grade was the delay in launching the police surge into the subways. Even with the state picking up much of the initial tab for the surge, Giacalone said the required overtime will be expensive.

“When the defund-the-police crowd gets the bill for this, they’ll be screaming from here to City Hall,” he said.

Much of Adams’ remaining crime agenda is dependent on cooperation from the state. Krasner said Hochul has not really shown her cards yet vis-a-vis how much she is willing to confront the state Assembly and Senate on things like bail reforms and other measures. Both have veto-proof Democratic majorities with powerful progressive caucuses, and, Browne believes, a “limited” appetite for revisiting the issues.

Krasner did say if Hochul wants to exercise leverage with the Legislature on crime or anything else, the upcoming budget negotiations are her best chance.

“The state’s constitution gives the governor a very strong hand in the budget process,” Krasner said. Q

Bedroom burglars steal $10K in R. Hill

by Deirdre Bardolf Associate Editor

Police released the photos of three men who allegedly broke into a Richmond Hill home and stole a safe earlier this month.

Around 3 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 12, police in the NYPD’s 102nd Precinct received a report that three unidentified individuals forcibly entered a home on 109th Street near 86th Avenue near Forest Park through a bedroom window in the back of the house.

They stole a safe that contained approximately $10,000 cash, according to police.

The individuals then fled in a blue van in an unknown direction.

In photographs provided by the police, one man is seen with a beard and wearing a black hoodie with white writing down the arm.

Another is seen with a black Nike hoodie, a black face mask and red-andblack sneakers.

No arrests have been made yet and the investigation remains ongoing, according to police.

A reward of $3,500 is being offered for information that leads to an arrest and indictment, according to NYPD Crime Stoppers.

The civic is taking Venmo donations at @HBL-civic. “Howard Beach Hero donation” should be written in the memo line. Q —

Deirdre Bardolf

The other, a man with a shaved head and black face mask, had on a gray hoodie with a black zip-up jacket over it.

Anyone with information 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) and then entering TIP577, or by going to @nypdtips on Twitter. All tips are strictly confidential.

Police released pictures of three individuals being sought for a home burglary in Richmond Hill on Dec. 12. PHOTOS COURTESY DCPI

Mayor Adams last week gave a speech touting the success of his administration’s gun and crime initiatives. PHOTO BY WALTER KARLING / FILE

Holiday storm rocked Queens

has been proposed but remains years down the line.

Borough President Donovan Richards said Hurricane Ida came to mind but told the Chronicle, “When you’re someone who’s been impacted and lost everything, it doesn’t matter what the name of the storm is. It’s very sad to come up on the holiday season to see people and families who’ve lost everything.”

That is what he saw in the Rockaways Friday, he said, and visited Hamilton Beach and Howard Beach in the following days.

“This is really about ensuring that those who lost everything could be made as whole as possible,” Richards said.

Hochul toured the Rockaways on Saturday with elected officials including Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens, Nassau), Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson (D-Far Rockaway) and state Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-South Ozone Park).

Following the tour, Hochul said they saw bulkheads compromised and damaged.

“We know we needed assistance from the Army Corps of Engineers to rebuild them,” she said. “They’ve been damaged since Sandy and the State of New York and the City of New York are certainly going to be helping that effort to protect the neighbors from the water rushing out of the bay and flooding the streets.”

“Yet again, Southeast Queens, the Rockaways and surrounding areas have undergone horrible yet entirely foreseeable mass flooding,” Public Advocate Jumaane Williams said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Sixteen months after Hurricane Ida struck our shores and killed thirteen fellow New Yorkers, our government has not made the changes, improvements, and recoveries necessary to protect and shelter its citizens,” Williams continued.

He said that people deserve “real plans, commitments, and genuine change” and called on the mayor to increase funding to the low-lying, disaster-prone areas and the governor to amend the State of Emergency she issued to include a request for federal funding for homeowners in the effected areas.

Williams also called for the Army Corps to be deployed for resiliency projects.

Richards tweeted on Friday: “We need immediate investment to improve our infrastructure and combat climate change.”

Talk of Federal Emergency Management Assistance funds has come up but it will have to be determined if the areas meet the threshold to receive assistance. In her Rockaway briefing, Hochul said her office would be meeting with FEMA statewide.

Damage can be reported to 311 or online at bit.ly/3YKmY0H. Q

Halls decked in Woodhaven

Inflation was felt at every turn this holiday shopping season, even with the price of Christmas trees, which was up over 20 percent according to some reports.

But the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, Councilwoman Joann Ariola and Lisena Landscaping, which donated the

firs, teamed up to bring the holiday staple to families just in time for Santa’s arrival. They gave out 14 free trees last Thursday and Friday at the WRBA office.

Above, Ariola is seen with WRBA President Martin Colberg, center, and Eddie Gardiner. — Deirdre Bardolf

Eric L. Adams

Mayor Ashwin Vasan, MD, PhD Commissioner

PHOTOS

IN REVIEW 2022

New mayor, new starts, old problems

New path in City Hall; concern on crime, schools; Mets amazin’

by Michael Gannon Senior News Editor

The year 2022 brought with it a new mayor facing new and old challenges, but also bringing more opportunities. And the mets, in more ways that one, were once again amazin’.

January

Hours into the start of his mayoralty on Jan. 1, Mayor Adams, a retired NYPD captain, and NYPD brass including Commissioner Keechant Sewell were in Queens at the morning roll call in the 103rd Precinct station house in Jamaica. The Democrat who won on a law-and-order platform had been beaten there when arrested as a teenager. He called the visit perhaps the most significant step in his historic journey to the mayoralty.

Adams then walked a block south to Jamaica Avenue for a meet-and-greet stroll with his new constituents.

A woman found stabbed to death on an Astoria street was the first homicide of 2022. The victim was found at about 8:35 p.m. near the corner of 23rd Street and Broadway.

Queens Councilwoman Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) was sworn in as the new Council speaker.

City Councilman Bob Holden (D-Maspeth) accused the administration of outgoing Mayor Bill de Blasio of discriminating against his 30th District through its policy of setting up Covid-19 testing sites and testing kit giveaways based on the racial composition of council districts.

Gov Hochul directed the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to begin the environmental review process for what has been termed the Interborough Express, a proposed passenger rail line that would run between Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, and Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights. The 14-mile route would connet wit the Long Island Rail Road and 17 subway lines and also serve Ridgewood,

Middle Village, Maspeth and Elmhurst.

Mayor Adams on Jan. 24 released his 15-page Blueprint to End Gun Violence.

“We will not surrender our city to the violent few,” Adams said. “We are not going to go back to the bad old days. We are going to get trigger pullers off the streets and guns out of their hands.”

Anthony Hobson, 51, was convicted of second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence in the 2019 stabbing death of Jennifer Irigoyen, 35, in her Ridgewood apartment. The mother of a young son also was pregnant at the time. The baby did not survive. Hobson would be sentenced to 26 and 1/3 years in prison in February.

February

Anne Holden, a longtime community volunteer and mother of Councilman Holden, passed away on Feb. 12 following a brief illness. She was 97.

The NYPD’s men’s volleyball team defeated the FDNY on Feb. 13 at Maspeth High School in a fundraiser for families of Police Officers Wilbert Mora and Jason Rivera, who were killed in the line of duty in Manhattan in January. New York’s Finest won by scores of 25-22, 20-25, 25-17 and 25-18.

On Feb. 22, City Department of Transportation Commissioner Ydanis Rodriguez was at the intersection of Cooper and Cypress Avenues in Glendale where a 57-year-old man had been struck by an SUV and then run over and dragged by another on Feb. 12, which was caught on a sickening video. Rodriguez promised quick upgrades. True to his word, the first of a series of changes — reprogramming some traffic signals — came within hours of his visit.

March

On March 4, U.S. Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushng) and Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills) joined more than two dozen disability rights advocates outside the M-R subway station at the Rego Center mall to press the MTA for more accessible subway stations.

The Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corp. added another feather to its cap with the National and State Registers of Historic Places adding about 445 buildings along the Myrtle Avenue and Fresh Pond Road corridors to their rosters. The designation brings the GRRC’s total number of recognized structures to 2,982.

March 4 marked the suspension of pandemic restrictions in venues, where proof of vaccination was no longer required, and public schools, where masks for K-12 became optional. Masks continued to be required for children, under 5 years old, whom Mayor Adams said remained ineligible for vaccination.

April

Leaders of the Juniper Park Civic Association, upon learning that the city’s Department of Transportation and Citi Bike made a presentation to Community Board 5’s Transportation Committee about expanding the program in to the district, prepared a counter proposal that they said could bring all the benefits of Citi Bikes with minimal impact on what already is very limited street parking.

The JPCA proposal relocated some bike docks from streets to sidewalks and moved some to different locations near the DOTrecommended sites.

Holden announced that the NYPD agreed

to provide a dedicated tow truck to the district Mondays through Fridays to address a serious and growing problem with illegally parked cars. Holden said the commitment came straight from NYPD Chief Kim Royster of the Transportation Bureau.

State Assemblyman Brian Barnwell (D-Woodside) on April 12 announced on social media that he will not seek a fourth term in Albany.

Barnwell stormed onto the scene in 2016, primarying and defeating long-time Democratic incumbent Marge Markey. He defeated Republican Tony Nunziato in 2016 and Eric Butkiewicz in 2018 before running unopposed in 2020.

After starting the season on the road, the New York Mets celebrated their opening day by unveiling their long-planned statue of alltime great pitcher Tom Seaver. The ceremony was attended by Seaver’s widow, Nancy, and his daughters, Anne and Sarah. Tom Terrific’s grandsons threw out the ceremonial first pitches to Mets legends Mike Piazza and Mookie Wilson. Under new Manager Buck Showalter, the Amazin’s then went out and did Seaver, also known as “The Franchise,” proud, clubbing the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-3 on the 75th anniversary of the day Seaver’s fellow Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947.

It proved to be a good omen for the 2022 season.

Officials ruled that Khurshid AbdulMutakabbir, who was replaced as principal of Maspeth High School in 2021 in the wake of a massive cheating scandal, would keep his six-figure salary and benefits until retirement, working in an unspecified position. The Department of Education asserts that he will not be working with students.

“We should not be rewarding city workers who are found to have been corrupt with a golden parachute. Taxpayers deserve better,” Holden said. Abdul-Mutakabbir was relieved of his duties as principal in July 2021. Investigations have found that his administration had a “no failure” policy that included teachers helping students with answers on Regents exams, artificial grade inflation and awarding students credit for classes not attended or in some cases not even held.

Troubled students were offered early graduation to move them on, and the school boasted a 98 percent graduation rate.

Parents and teachers dubbed it “the Maspeth Minimum.”

The new state budget included $41 million for flooding relief related to the remnants of Hurricane Ida, which struck on Sept. 1, 2021 and killed 11 Queens residents.

Len Santoro of Middle Village stepped down in his fourth term as president of the 104th Precinct Community Council. The former member of the Juniper Park Civic Association left effective April 26 due to his impending move to Arizona.

Deputy Inspectors Louron Hall, left, and Kevin Coleman, at the changing of the guard at the 104th Precinct.

NYPD PHOTO / FILE

Councilman Bob Holden, left, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr, Assemblywoman Jenifer Rajkumar and Glendale resident Caroline Shadood at the treacherous intersection of Cooper and Cypress avenues. Promised upgrades began less than a day later.

PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON / FILE

Mid Queens in 2022

With summer around the corner, Holden introduced a bill aimed at the increasingly popular pop-up parties that began to proliferate and raise havoc with neighbors in his district and others. The parties led to numerous complaints from residents — as well as a pair of shootings in 2021. His bill targeted organizers of parties, or in some cases the building owners, when vacant storefronts host gatherings without following city regulations or commonsense precautions.

The Chronicle received eight awards, including three first-place nods, at the annual spring convention of the New York Press Association, led by Associate Editor Deirdre Bardolf who was named Rookie Reporter of the year. The Chronicle also took first place for coverage of religion for the second straight year, and coverage of education.

May

Migdalia Ortega, 51, was shot and killed in her Ridgewood apartment on May 9 in what police believed was a domestic incident. A neighbor who came to check on her also was wounded. Pedro Cintron, 55, who police said was “being sought” for her killing, was found dead the next day on McKibben Street in Brooklyn of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Deacon Kevin McCormack was appointed the new superintendent of schools for the Diocese of Brooklyn by Bishop Robert Brennan. McCormack, then principal of Xaverian High School in Brooklyn, replaced Thomas Chadzutko. He oversees 70 Catholic elementary academies and schools, as well as 15 Catholic high schools throughout Queens and Brooklyn with a combined enrollment of 30,894.

A 17-year-old boy was wounded in one arm on May 11 in a shooting incident across the street from Maspeth High School. According to the NYPD, the shooting took place at approximately 1:40 p.m. in front of 74-02 Grand Ave., which is across the street from the school.

The boy ran into the school and was taken by EMS personnel to NYC Health + Hospitals/Elmhurst.

June

Deputy Inspector Kevin Coleman was named the new commanding officer of the NYPD’s 104th Precinct. He replaced Deputy Inspector Louron Hall, who was transferred to take command of the 109th Precinct in Flushing. An 18-year veteran, Coleman served most recently with the Patrol Borough Bronx command. He also is the former commanding officer of the 10th Precinct in Manhattan.

Glendale resident Suzanne Ramos, 15, a

member of Girl Scouts Troop 4015, received the Girl Scouts’ highest national award — the Medal of Honor — for using the Heimlich maneuver to save her younger sister from choking to death as the family sat down to dinner. Suzanne learned the procedure during her scouting instruction. She also received a proclamation from the City Council presented by Holden.

The mayor and City Council reached a deal on a record-high $101 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1.

Despite cries from some quarters that

PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON / FILE

the budget contained too many cuts, the city would not make it even three full months into the new fiscal year before Mayor Adams, at the end of September, issued the first of a series of orders requiring mid-year budget reductions intended to get the city to next June.

Gov. Hochul extended mayoral control of the city’s school system into law in quite literally the 11th hour as it was set to expire.

The legislation granted the expected two-year extension to Mayor Adams. Q

Khurshid Abdul-Mutakibbir, the former Maspeth High School principal accused of overseeing the “Maspeth Minimum” cheating scandal, was reassigned but kept his salary.

In Bayside, tragedy strikes on Christmas

House devastated by two-alarm fire

by Sophie Krichevsky Associate Editor

A house fire is never a welcome sight, but particularly during what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year.

Tragedy struck a Bayside home on Christmas Day when it was hit with a two-alarm blaze.

FDNY officials responded to a fire at 215-05 43 Ave. just before 3:30 in the afternoon, the FDNY press office told the Chronicle via email.

By 3:45 p.m., the blaze had been upped to two alarms. The FDNY said the fire had started in the house’s attic. Several videos posted to the Citizen app that afternoon show flames pouring out of the top floor window.

The cause of the fire, however, is still under investigation, the FDNY press office said.

After 106 FDNY and EMS personnel responded to the blaze, the fire was deemed under control at approximately 5:45 p.m. No one was injured.

Records from the Department of

Buildings show that a partial vacate order was issued for the property on Dec. 25. The same records suggest that at least two apartments are in the house, one of which is in the attic. Numerous complaints of illegal units have been filed at the property this fall.

The attic unit suffered extensive fire damage, including an opening in the roof. The basement, first and second floors all have water damage, DOB records show. Q

Two shooting deaths over Xmas weekend

by Sean Okula Associate Editor

Police are asking for the public’s help in finding the perpetrators of a pair of killings taking place around the Christmas holiday.

Last Friday, the NYPD says an unknown male approached 40-year-old Elgin Reynolds of Manhattan in front of 89-62 165 Street in Jamaica at around 12:15 p.m. The unknown man displayed a firearm, and when Reynolds attempted to evade the attacker, the gun wielder fired multiple shots, striking his victim in the leg, torso and face.

PHOTO COURTESY NYPD

Reynolds was taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The perpetrator fled northbound on 165th Street toward 89th Avenue, where he entered a white sedan.

The suspect is a dark-skinned male, approximately 40 to 45 years old, standing between 6 ft. and 6 ft., 2 in. and was

last seen wearing a green jacket, green pants, brown boots and a black du-rag.

Then early Tuesday, police received a call of a person shot in front of 146-48 Sutphin Blvd. in South Jamaica.

Upon arrival, they found a 35-year-old man sitting inside a Nissan Altima with a gunshot wound to his head.

EMS pronounced him dead at the scene.

The NYPD says the incident is being investigated as a homicide. The victim’s name was being withheld pending family notification at time of print.

Both investigations are ongoing.

Anyone with information 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) and then entering TIP577, or by going to @nypdtips on Twitter. All tips are strictly confidential. Q

Photo contest!

The Queens Chronicle’s 15th annual Holiday Photo Contest isn’t over yet!

Take pictures of joyous children and families, lights, miniature villages, snowy landscapes — anything that reflects the season — and send them on 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 any people in the picture, when possible, and when it was taken.

And 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!

Police are seeking this man in connection to a killing that took place in Jamaica last Friday.

PHOTO BY STEVE FISHER

A two-alarm fire struck a Bayside home on Christmas Day. CITIZEN APP SCREENSHOT

NYSCI is back with three new exhibits CALL OF SCIENCE

by Peter Kropf

Ever wonder what happens when you flip on a light switch? Or which microorganisms live on common household items? Or how a deaf person can experience music?

These questions, and many others, are answered at three new exhibitions at the New York Hall of Science, aka NYSCI, in Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

The interactive exhibits — “Powering the City,” “Small Discoveries” and “Human Plus” — are featured as part of the museum’s full reopening, which officially took place in October.

It’s been a difficult few years for NYSCI. The institution shut its doors for 16 months due to the pandemic; reopening briefly in the summer of 2021, it was forced to close again after

sustaining extensive flooding damage from Hurricane Ida. The lower level was especially devastated. NYSCI partially reopened in February, and has been fully operational since mid-October. The lower floor, home to the popular Design Lab, is finally back and buzzing.

“The flooding was incredibly unfortunate, but we took advantage of the opportunity to redesign and improve sections of the museum, particularly the lower level,” says Bryan Blaney, NYSCI’s director of audience development and experience.

The three new exhibits signal a return to prepandemic normalcy.

Located in the Central Pavilion, at street level and under the Great Hall, “Powering the City” provides hands-on experiences to explain the role energy plays in daily living.

Setups and screens show how much power is used by home appliances, as well as demonstrate how power plants transform physical energy into electrical energy to power the Big Apple. One activity tasks visitors with arranging wires on a map to connect the boroughs to electrical energy sources. The exercise teaches that the flow of power into the grid is constantly monitored and adjusted to avoid stressing the system.

Legal Notices Legal Notices Legal Notices

SUPPLEMENTAL SUMMONS Mortgaged Premises: 144-16 181ST PLACE, SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, NY 11413 Block: 13091, Lot: 24 Plaintiff designates QUEENS as the place of trial situs of the real property THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FKA THE BANK OF NEW YORK TRUST COMPANY, N.A. AS SUCCESSOR TO JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR RESIDENTIAL ASSET MORTGAGE PRODUCTS, INC., MORTGAGE ASSET-BACKED PASSTHROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-RS2 Plaintiff, vs. LOUISE BROWN; ROY COOPER, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY JEAN; ASHLEY COOPER A/K/A ASHLEY COOPER KINSLER, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY JEAN; R.D.C., A MINOR CHILD, BY AND THROUGH THEIR NATURAL GUARDIAN, ROY COOPER, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE TO THE ESTATE OF NANCY JEAN; IMMANUEL RUCKER, AS HEIR AND DISTRIBUTEE OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY JEAN; UNKNOWN HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF NANCY JEAN, any and all persons unknown to plaintiff, claiming, or who may claim to have an interest in, or general or specific lien upon the real property described in this action; such unknown persons being herein generally described and intended to be included in the following designation, namely: the wife, widow, husband, widower, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors, and assignees of such deceased, any and all persons deriving interest in or lien upon, or title to said real property by, through or under them, or either of them, and their respective wives, widows, husbands, widowers, heirs at law, next of kin, descendants, executors, administrators, devisees, legatees, creditors, trustees, committees, lienors and assigns, all of whom and whose names, except as stated, are unknown to plaintiff; NEW YORK CITY ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL BOARD; NEW YORK CITY PARKING VIOLATIONS BUREAU; NEW YORK CITY TRANSIT ADJUDICATION BUREAU; NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF TAXATION AND FINANCE; UNITED STATES OF AMERICA; “JOHN DOE” (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #1; “JOHN DOE” (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #2; “JOHN DOE” (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #3; “JOHN DOE” (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #4; “JOHN DOE” (REFUSED NAME) AS JOHN DOE #5; “JOHN DOE #6” through “JOHN DOE #12,” the last seven names being fictitious and unknown to plaintiff, the persons or parties intended being the tenants, occupants, persons or corporations, if any, having or claiming an interest in or lien upon the premises, described in the complaint, Defendants. To the above named Defendants YOU ARE HEREBY SUMMONED to answer the Complaint in the above entitled action and to serve a copy of your Answer on the plaintiff’s attorney within twenty (20) days of the service of this Summons, exclusive of the day of service, or within thirty (30) days after service of the same is complete where service is made in any manner other than by personal delivery within the State. The United States of America, if designated as a defendant in this action, may answer or appear within sixty (60) days of service. Your failure to appear or to answer will result in a judgment against you by default for the relief demanded in the Complaint. In the event that a deficiency balance remains from the sale proceeds, a judgment may be entered against you. NOTICE OF NATURE OF ACTION AND RELIEF SOUGHT THE OBJECT of the above caption action is to foreclose a Mortgage to secure the sum of $255,000.00 and interest, recorded on December 06, 2005, in Instrument Number 2005000674502, of the Public Records of QUEENS County, New York., covering premises known as 144-16 181ST PLACE, SPRINGFIELD GARDENS, NY 11413. The relief sought in the within action is a final judgment directing the sale of the premises described above to satisfy the debt secured by the Mortgage described above. QUEENS County is designated as the place of trial because the real property affected by this action is located in said county. NOTICE YOU ARE IN DANGER OF LOSING YOUR HOME If you do not respond to this summons and complaint by serving a copy of the answer on the attorney for the mortgage company who filed this foreclosure proceeding against you and filing the answer with the court, a default judgment may be entered and you can lose your home. Speak to an attorney or go to the court where your case is pending for further information on how to answer the summons and protect your property. Sending a payment to the mortgage company will not stop the foreclosure action. YOU MUST RESPOND BY SERVING A COPY OF THE ANSWER ON THE ATTORNEY FOR THE PLAINTIFF (MORTGAGE COMPANY) AND FILING THE ANSWER WITH THE COURT. Dated: December 15, 2022 ROBERTSON, ANSCHUTZ, SCHNEID, CRANE & PARTNERS, PLLC Attorney for Plaintiff Mohammad M. Anwar, Esq. 900 Merchants Concourse, Suite 310, Westbury, NY 11590 516-280-7675

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Music’s Clive Davis had brief engagement in Bayside

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Herman Davis, an electrical engineer, married Florence Brooks in September 1924 in Brooklyn. Herman married up, as Florence was from a prominent Jewish society family from Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Their first child, Seena, a girl, was born June 10, 1925. A boy named Clive followed on April 4, 1932, to complete the family.

Life was good at 1321 Union Street in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Clive was thrown a curve when his mother died suddenly at age 47 on Nov. 2, 1950. Less than a year later, on Oct. 25 1951, his father died at age 54. Still a teenager, he moved in with his sister Seena, her husband, Jerome, and their daughter, Honey, at 75-54 255 St. in Glen Oaks Village. Despite these setbacks, he graduated magna cum laude from NYU. He continued to Harvard Law School on a scholarship and graduated in 1956. He became general council for Columbia records, a subsidiary of CBS at age 28. Soon he became president and was interested in the next generation of rock and roll.

He is credited with signing some of the biggest stars of the era such as Janis Joplin, Billy Joel, to name a few. He was fired in 1973 for using company funds to pay for his son’s bar mitzvah. So he started Arista records in 1974 with continued success. He is credited with signing Whitney Houston at age 20 and saw her only hours before her death. Clive has been married and divorced twice and came out as bisexual in 2013. He’s still going strong at age 90 as chief creative officer of Sony.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK COUNTY OF QUEENS INDEX NO. 720783/2020

The home of Sony CEO Clive Davis, when a teenager at 75-54 255 St. in Glen Oaks Village, as it looks today. GOOGLE MAPS IMAGE; INSET VIA WIKIPEDIA / CHRISTOPHER PETERSON

January at the Alley Pond Environmental Center

by Sophie Krichevsky associate editor

The Alley Pond Environmental Center is preparing to ring in the new year with several events throughout the month of January, all of which are designed specifically for adults.

To kick things off, the APEC will sponsor a virtual workshop on fermenting vegetables on Jan. 7 from 10 to 11:30 a.m. During that session, those in attendance will get a lesson in the craft from expert and self-described “fermentation geek” Cheryl Paswater, per her website. The registration fee is $30 per household. Karen Donahue, the center’s homeschool and adult program coordinator, said participants will be given a list of supplies to gather in advance, though she reasoned that most of those items are things people might already have in their refrigerators and pantries.

Though the APEC has sponsored events for adults for quite some time, Donahue said designing activities can at times be a challenge.

“It’s hit or miss — The adults are a little bit trickier to get into our programs than the children’s programs,” she told the Chronicle. “But we do try to offer programs where like minded adults can gather and bond, focus on self-awareness [and] learn a little bit more

about the indigenous plants that are around us [through] nature hikes with professional experts through our forest therapy walks.”

As such, Donahue said the center put out a survey earlier this year to get a sense of some activities residents might like to attend. It found there was an interest in learning about the area’s geological history.

That will come to fruition on Jan. 7, when

the APEC will host a nature walk highlighting New York City’s geological evolution from 12 to 1:30 p.m. During that time, Jacob Mamiye, who serves as the environmental center’s Scout coordinator, will discuss the region’s pre-human beginnings, when ancient sea scorpions roamed, among other highlights. Visitors should not be deterred by the possibility of spending an hour and a half

in the cold — hot chocolate and tea will be provided. Registration is $28 per person; space is limited.

Those looking to learn more about native plants will get their chance on Jan. 8 from 1 to 2:30 p.m., when herbalist Jocelyn Perez will lead the group through the environmental center in identifying plants for medicinal uses and edibility, as well as their folklore. That event is open to all ages, and dogs are allowed if leashed. Registration costs $15 per person; space is limited.

The following Saturday, Astoria-based aromatherapist Annie Mascia will teach community members how to harvest and dry marigold flowers so they can be used to make essential oils, which Donahue noted are particularly useful for dry skin during the winter. Those in attendance will also have the chance to sip marigold tea. The workshop costs $25 per person and is open to adults and kids over 10, though children need to be accompanied by an adult.

The APEC will round out the month with a winter forest bathing walk on Jan. 21. During the 90-minute session, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on themselves and connect with nature. Registration is $20 per person.

To sign up for those programs, visit alleypond.org/adult-programs.html. Q

NYSCI is again a fully operational learning station

Also included are circuitry tables and an infrared energy station where you can see your own body heat (reminiscent of the 1987 film “Predator”).

Just steps away in the Central Pavilion is “Small Discoveries,” which focuses on microorganisms. “It can be hard to understand what you can’t see, so this exhibit is the microworld up close,” Blaney explains. Video displays reveal how microorganisms

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affect human life, whether directly or indirectly. Everything from ants to bacteria to cultures can be examined under Wentzscopes and magnifying glasses.

“Human Plus,” in the North Wing at street level, tells real-life stories showcasing how technology can better the lives of those with physical challenges. Visitors can design a wheelchair or other tools to help individuals with various physical disabilities. One station titled “Feel the Music” allows users to experience songs the way some deaf people do — through vibrotactile technology.

The exhibits are for everyone. “Science is everywhere, you just need to be able to access it,” Blaney stresses. “We provide an entry point to learning for both novices and aficionados.”

An exhibit on power during an energy crisis? One on microbes in the age of Covid19? It’s no coincidence that the exhibits align with current events. “It’s important to present relevant topics at relevant times and spark conversations,” Blaney says. “NYSCI always has its finger on the pulse.”

The recent exhibits also appear to have a theme of resilience and flexibility; the Hall of Science itself has been strong and adaptable.

NYSCI has now been flooded with families. Melinda and Horace Porter, of Manhattan, visited earlier this month with their two children, ages 4 and 2.

“This is our second time here,” Melinda

Porter said. “The exhibits are a good supplement to our kids’ education and the knowledge they come in with. I let them run freely to learn and have fun. A place like this is especially crucial during the winter.”

Kids and parents participate in an engineering challenge using PVC pipes at the Design Lab on NYSCI’s lower level, which reopened this fall. On the cover: Among those visiting NYSCI on a recent day were Dorothy Chong and Ian, 11; Yuriy and his 13-year-old twin daughters; and Horace and Melinda Porter and their kids.

PHOTOS BY PETER KROPF

The Alley Pond Environmental Center will host several workshops for adults in January, including one on the city’s geological history, going as far back as when sea scorpions, similar to that seen above, roamed.

PHOTO COURTESY ALLEY POND ENVIRONMENTAL CENTER

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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.

2371 BAYVIEW LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 09/30/19. Offi ce: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent of the LLC upon swhom process against it may be served. SSNY shall mail copy of process to the LLC, 46-05 Northern Boulevard, Long Island City, NY 11101. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

4 LALLS, LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 07/27/18. 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, 122-15 150th Avenue, South Ozone Park, NY 11420. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

411 EAST 163RD STREET, LLC, Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 12/21/2022. 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, 14-20 136th Street, College Point, NY 11356.

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.

4705 LLC. Arts. of Org. fi led with the SSNY on 10/20/22. 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, 4705 28th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11103. Registered agent address c/o NHP Business Management Services Inc., 229 Jericho Turnpike, New Hyde Park, NY 11040. Purpose: Any lawful purpose.

SUPREME COURT OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK - COUNTY OF QUEENS, HSBC BANK USA, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF RENAISSANCE HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST 2006-1, V. HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF LETA WEBB, ET AL. NOTICE OF SALE. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN pursuant to a Final Judgment of Foreclosure dated June 29, 2022, and entered in the Offi ce of the Clerk of the County of Queens, wherein HSBC BANK USA, N.A., AS TRUSTEE FOR THE REGISTERED HOLDERS OF RENAISSANCE HOME EQUITY LOAN TRUST 2006-1 is the Plaintiff and HEIRS AND DISTRIBUTEES OF THE ESTATE OF LETA WEBB, 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 20, 2023 at 11:30AM, premises known as 152-22 119TH AVENUE, JAMAICA, NY 11434: Block 12210, Lot 51: 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 # 711176/2015. Joseph F. DeFelice, 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.

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.

NOTICE OF SALE

SUPREME COURT COUNTY OF QUEENS, RIDGEWOOD SAVINGS BANK, Plaintiff, vs. RENOTTI M. HILL ALEXANDER, ET AL., Defendant (s). Pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale duly entered on October 31, 2019 I, the undersigned Referee will sell at public auction at the Queens Supreme Court, courthouse steps, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, New York on January 27, 2023 at 10:15 a.m., premises known as 17623 127TH AVENUE, JAMAICA, NY 114343300 A/K/A 17623 127TH AVENUE, ADDISLEIGH PARK, NY 11434-3300 A/K/A 17623 127TH AVENUE, ROCHDALE VILLAGE, NY 11434-3300. 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, Block: 12526, Lot: 24, approximate amount of judgment is $196,953.21 plus interest and costs. Premises will be sold subject to provisions of fi led Judgment Index # 701087/2018. All parties shall comply with the Eleventh Judicial District’s COVID-19 Policies concerning Public Auctions of foreclosed properties. These policies, along with the Queens County Foreclosure Auction Rules, can be found on the Queens Supreme Court - Civil Term Website (https:// www.nycourts.gov/LegacyPDFS/COURTS/11jd/supreme/ civilterm/partrules/Foreclosure_Auction_Rules.pdf) If the sale is set aside for any reason, the Purchaser at the sale shall be entitled only to a return of the deposit paid. The Purchaser shall have no further recourse against the Mortgagor, the Mortgagee, the Mortgagee’s attorney, or the Referee. LAMONT R. BAILEY, Esq., Referee Roach & Lin, P.C., 6851 Jericho Turnpike, Suite 185, Syosset, New York 11791, Attorneys for Plaintiff

KSR Real Estate LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 11/19/2022. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to 260 Beach 116th St., Rockaway Park, NY 11694. General 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 718722-3131. 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

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

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

Howard Beach/Rockwood Park, 40x100, Hi-Ranch, unique 5 BRs, 2 full baths, 3 BRs, 1 bath, top flr & 2 BRs on walk-in level, new kit, HW flrs & new baths. Cement & pavers front & back. Full 1 car gar, sep ent to walk-in. Asking $982K. Connexion Real Estate, 718-845-1136

HEARING NOTICE

The New York City Board of Standards and Appeals has scheduled a virtual or hybrid public hearing on the following application on January 9th or January 10th, 2023: BSA Cal. No. 2021-71-BZ Premises: 105-31 76th Street, Queens - Block 9124, Lot 106(tent) Variance (§72-21) to permit the construction of a House of Worship (UG 4) (Al Furqan Mosque) contrary to underlying bulk requirements. R4A zoning district. Applicant: Eric Palatnik, P.C. An agenda listing the specific session (including the final date and time) with call-in details will be posted as an announcement on the front page of the Board’s website (www.nyc.gov/bsa) the Friday before. The public hearing will be livestreamed on the Board’s website and on YouTube. Interested persons or associations may watch online and call in to present testimony during the public hearing. Please see the Board’s Virtual Hearing Guides located at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/bsa/public-hearings/ public-hearings.page

However, the Board may determine that it must conduct the public hearing as a “hybrid,” during which the Commissioners will meet in person at the Board’s office in Manhattan and also appear virtually on live-streamed YouTube and on an interactive Zoom Webinar. In the event of a “hybrid” hearing, applicants and the public may attend in person or participate remotely by calling into the Zoom Webinar and watching the YouTube livestream. Details for the hearing and whether it will be conducted as a hybrid will be posted on the Board’s website the Friday before the hearing. If the hearing is announced as a hybrid, in the interest of accommodating social distancing with limited seating capacity and to address ongoing health concerns, members of the public are strongly encouraged to participate in the hearing remotely. You may submit a written statement by using the “Public Comment form” on the Board’s website located at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/bsa/contact-bsa/ public-comments.page

For any communication, please include or refer to BSA Calendar No. 2021-71-BZ and the property address: 105-31 76th Street, Queens - Block 9124, Lot 106(tent). To coordinate review of the application materials, inquire about continued hearing dates and/or assistance, please contact the Board office at (212) 386-0009.

LOST TITLE APPLICATION NO.: 2423423 22 November, 2022

OFFICE OF TITLES

NOTICE PURSUANT TO SECTION 82 OF THE REGISTRATION OF TITLES ACT (RTA}

WHEREAS the applicant(s) in the above stated application has/have declared that the following duplicate Certifi cate of Title has been lost, I HEREBY GIVE NOTICE that I intend to cancel the said Certifi cate of Title and issue a new one in duplicate fourteen days after the last publication of this advertisement.

Volume: 1008

Folio: 593

Lot: 83

Place: Land part of Pleasanton Gardens formerly part of No. 61 Red Hills Road

Parish: St. Andrew

Registered proprietor(s): Clement Manola Reid and Dorothy May Reid

The following transactions lodged with this application will be registered pursuant to section 81 of the RTA:

Application to Note Death 2423421

L. Dunbar

To Advertise Call 718-205-8000

61-76 56th Street LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 11/14/2022. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Janusz Grabinski, 58-23 61st St., Maspeth, NY 11378.

General Purpose

917 Clintonville LLC, Arts of Org. fi led with Sec. of State of NY (SSNY) 12/9/2022. Cty: Queens. SSNY desig. as agent upon whom process against may be served & shall mail process to Debra B. Dunham, 151-16 9th Ave., Whitestone, NY 11357. General Purpose

Notice of Formation of AERIAL ARMOR APPAREL LLC

Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 12/12/2022. 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: AERIAL ARMOR APPAREL, 21-22 21ST ROAD APT 2F, ASTORIA, NY 11105. 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.

Deputy Registrar of Titles

Notice of Formation of DEEN SWEET TREATS, LLC Articles of Organization were fi led with the Secretary of State of New York (SSNY) on 10/30/2021. 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: DEEN SWEET TREATS, LLC, 226-46 77TH AVE, BAYSIDE, NY, 11364. Purpose: For any lawful purpose.

Notice of formation of US HOPEFLUENT LLC. Arts of Org fi led with Secy of State of NY (SSNY) on 12/13/22. Offi ce location: Queens County. SSNY designated as agent upon whom process may be served and shall mail copy of process against LLC to: 140-86 34th Ave., Flushing, NY 11354. Purpose: any lawful act.

LOST TITLE APPLICATION NO.: 2420839 25 October, 2022

OFFICE OF TITLES

NOTICE PURSUANT TO SECTION 82 OF THE REGISTRATION OF TITLES ACT (RTA)

WHEREAS the applicant(s) in the above stated application has/have declared that the following duplicate Certifi cate of Title has been lost, I HEREBY GIVE NOTICE that I intend to cancel the said Certifi cate of Title and issue a new one in duplicate fourteen days after the last publication of this advertisement.

Volume: 977

Folio: 378

Lot: 29

Place: Part of Angels

Parish: St. Catherine

Registered proprietor(s): Bevolin Delaine Jarrett Deputy Registrar of Titles

L. Dunbar

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.

UTOPIA TOWERS LLC fi led Arts. of Org. with the Sect’y of State of NY (SSNY) on 6/1/2022. Offi ce: Queens County. SSNY has been designated as agent of the LLC upon whom process against it may be served and shall mail process to: c/o Ochs & Goldberg, LLP, 1270 Ave. of the Americas, Ste. 747, New York, NY, 10020. Purpose: any lawful act.

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

Last Tuesday the Mets held a press conference for the man they hope will replace Jacob deGrom as their ace, newly acquired free agent Justin Verlander. While it is to be seen how well Verlander will pitch for the Mets, it is safe to say the team got a personality upgrade. Granted, that is a low bar when compared to deGrom. Verlander said he enjoys New York City and often spent time here after the baseball season ended.

Verlander grew up near Richmond, Va. I asked him if geography played a role in accepting the Mets’ offer over that of the Los Angeles Dodgers. “It was absolutely a factor. It will be a lot easier for my family and friends to see me.”

The Mets also frequently play in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, which are even closer to Richmond.

Verlander’s agent, Mark Pieper, told me that his client has been inundated with endorsement offers ever since word leaked out at the recent baseball winter meetings in San Diego that he would be a Met. DeGrom never seemed interested in doing commercials that have benefited Mets slugger Pete Alonso, who has done television ads for Citi Cards, Car Shield and BMW.

Catcher James McCann was traded, or more accurately given away, to the Baltimore Orioles hours after news broke about free agent Carlos Correa coming to Flushing pending medical

exams. The Mets will be paying $19 million of the remaining $24 million of McCann’s contract which has two more years to run.

McCann was the first free agent signed by the Mets in the Steve Cohen era. Cohen was new so he understandably allowed team president Sandy Alderson, to handle player acquisitions without interference. Alderson, perhaps believing he was still working for the Wilpons, rushed to sign the lower-cost McCann instead of pursuing the far better option, JT Realmuto, who would have been far more expensive.

It is safe to say Cohen, along with every Mets fan, regrets that decision. We will see if he also regrets making a large commitment to Carlos Correa before having all the medical facts at his disposal. Correa only became available when his deal with the San Francisco Giants fell through because their medical staff had qualms about whether his ankle, leg and back would hold up over a more than decade-long contract.

The last thing the Mets need is for Correa to become the second coming of Jed Lowrie. In 2019, then-Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen signed third baseman Lowrie to a twoyear, $20 million contract. In spring training of that year, he reported pain in his left leg. He wound up getting eight at-bats and zero hits during his two years as a Met. Q

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