Queens Chronicle South Edition 6-29-17

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

YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER

PHOTO BY ANTHONY O’REILLY; ILLUSTRATION BY JAN SCHULMAN

VOL. XL

NO. 26

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 2017

QCHRON.COM

City may expand homeless use at Comfort Inn PAGE 6 Although a spokesman denies such plans, the city in a “fair share analysis” of the Comfort Inn on Redding Street said it would like to expand the use of the hotel as a homeless shelter.

SAVING GRACE?

A SAFER SPACE

SUMMER BLOSSOMS

Lhota appointed MTA chairman — again

Call boxes placed in Forest Park

Flushing photographer has her eye on nature in new exhibit

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We’re just obeying the law, O’Neill says Council members push commish on busting rowdy parties in homes

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

C

ity Council members are making noise over the way police officers are allowed to bust loud parties in residential areas.

Nearly half of the Council has called on Commissioner James O’Neill, either in writing or at a City Hall press conference Tuesday, to review regulations on how cops are permitted to respond to complaints of noise.

“We need to do better,” Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens) said in a June 27 tweet.

But according to a spokesman for the NYPD and O’Neill — the department is merely doing the job the way it’s always been allowed to.

The issue of noise came into the spotlight last month when the New York Post first reported police officers could no longer enter into a residence where loud music was playing — unless granted permission from the homeowner. The change, according to the Post, came as a result of lawsuits against the NYPD after cops barged into properties without a warrant.

An NYPD spokesman claims the directive telling officers how to handle noisy parties is provided to them “annually before the summer months,” when 311 complaints of noise are at their highest.

O’Neill, in a June 12 letter to Council members and community boards provided to the Chronicle, said “our members are prohibited by law from forcibly entering a closed premises based on noise alone.” But the NYPD’s Patrol Guide says a decision to forcibly enter “a private or semi-private premises to correct noise complaints will ONLY be made by a precinct

The news over an apparent change in how the NYPD is allowed to respond to complaints of loud parties continues to heat up.

NYPD Commissioner James O’Neill said his officers are simply PHOTO BY CHRISTOPHER BARCA following the law. commander/duty captain and ONLY as a last resort.” Before using that last resort, responding officers must take into consideration the time of day, type of neighborhood — commercial or residential — the number of complaints and the ambient noise level of the area generally.

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That point was echoed by Capt. Brian Bohannon, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct in South Queens, who has told several civics in the past few weeks that “nothing has changed.”

“What has changed is the awareness in regards to what we are and what we are not allowed to do,” the captain said at his precinct’s community council meeting June 14. “We were never allowed to do warrantless searches.”

Bohannon and O’Neill, though, said officers are given permission to enter houses most of the time when responding to a call.

“In the vast majority of unreasonable noise situations, our officers’ requests to reduce the music level or cease the unreasonable noise will be met with cooperation,” the commissioner said.

But at least one commanding officer has blamed the directive for a more serious offense. Insp. Jeffrey Schiff, head of the Queens Village-based 105th Precinct, said officers were turned away from a house where excessive noise was playing on June 11 — not too long after they left, two people were shot, including a 21-year-old man who may now be paralyzed.

But there is more than one way to skin a cat — or bust a loud party, according to O’Neill.

“When consent to enter a closed premises is not given or cannot be obtained, our members may enter a premises where there is an immediate need to render aid or address a seriously dangerous condition such as severe overcrowding, the presence of weapons or physical violence, minors who appeared intoxicated, persons who appear incapacitated or Q otherwise in need of medical attention, etc.,” he said.

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Call boxes placed in Forest Park Advocates, elected officials hail installation of the safety devices

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Forest Park-goers will now have an additional way to call for help.

Emergency call boxes have started popping up throughout the park, the second largest in Queens, allowing park-goers to have a direct line to the Police and Fire departments.

The boxes were funded in part by Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), who allocated $140,000 for them.

Other elected officials representing par ts of the park put an unspecif ied amount of money in for the devices as well.

“The new emergency call boxes provide visitors with direct access to the NYPD, even if they do not have a cell phone,” Ulrich said in an emailed statement. “I am proud to have funded this project, which will keep Forest Park safe.”

The phones are in yellow boxes in strategic locations, determined by the NYPD —which will maintain them — and are operated by pressing a red button that connects the caller with a 911 operator.

Safety in Forest Park has been a primary concern for residents in neighboring Woodhaven, Richmond Hill, Kew Gardens and Glendale for years.

“I’ve been fighting for them for the last year,” said Friends of Forest Park President

Call boxes, such as the one seen here, have been installed around Forest Park in recent weeks, providing park-goers with an additional way to phone for help. Park advocates and elected offiPHOTO BY ANTHONY O’REILLY cials have pushed for the devices for years. and Kew Gardens resident Mike Moore, referring to the call boxes. “And others, including the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association have been pushing much longer.”

In 2013, two women were raped while

running there and in June 2015, a homeless man was accused of beating a male jogger to death.

There has also been a rash of car breakins in recent years, especially along Myrtle Avenue.

“I’m really excited that they’re there now,” Moore said, adding it will provide people with peace of mind.

The boxes are the second safety investment made in the park in the last year.

In August 2016 — after years of delays and red tape — 14 surveillance camera units were installed by the NYPD. Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) had allocated $250,000 for the cameras in 2013, following the rapes, and lobbied the state government to get them up as soon as possible.

“I think this is great,” Miller said about the phones. “If it’s something we can do to keep the park safe, I’m for it.”

Moore hopes the phones will be a “visual deterrent” to vandals in the park.

“Maybe they’ll see it and decide to go someplace else,” he said.

For those who find themselves in need of making a call, the boxes show where in the park a person is standing. The park advocate said that will be a big help for anyone in need of help.

“In the past, people wouldn’t know how to describe where in the park they were,” he said. “And sometimes they would just give up.”

Moore and Miller both are optimistic the phones will be maintained properly.

“I’ve put my eyes on every single one,” Q Moore said.

106th Precinct to crack down on fireworks Two dozen officers being provided to the command

by Anthony O’Reilly

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

The 106th Precinct will not be having a picnic on the Fourth of July — instead, it will be out in full force looking to keep illegal fireworks out of the sky.

Capt. Brian Bohannon, commanding off icer of the South Queens command, announced at Monday’s meeting of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association that the precinct will receive an “influx of officers” from Patrol Borough Queens South for Independence Day enforcement — 24 to be exact, in addition to a lieutenant, sergeant and a mobile command center that will be placed on Cross Bay Boulevard.

The officers will respond to calls of fireworks being set off across the precinct, which patrols

Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach.

Bohannon said anti-fireworks operations are already ongoing.

“We made a bust, not here but in Ozone Park, recently,” the captain said.

The 106th Precinct every summer, mostly a rou nd Ju ly 4, receives dozens of calls of complaints regarding firecrackers.

Although those are also a concern elsewhere in the borough, Howard Beach and Ozone Park are near John F. Kennedy International Airport and airplanes are flying in lower than normal due to ongoing runway work.

Similar operations have been carried out in prior years throughout the precinct. In 2015, thencommanding officer Insp. Jeffrey

Schiff said the South Queens officers had the biggest catch of any command on July 4 — though he didn’t specify the number of fireworks seized. Howard Beach residents didn’t wait until the holiday to give some tips, pointing out areas near public schools as chronic locations.

The NYPD offers rewards of up to $1,000 for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of people possessing or distributing fireworks. Information can be provided by calling 311; 911 should be used for crimes in progress.

Bohannon, responding to a resident, said the illicit fireworks are brought a little further north and disposed of. “[The NYPD does] a controlled explosion in the Bronx,” he said. Q

The 106th Precinct will be receiving two dozen extra officers to confiscate illegal fireworks, such as the ones seen here from busts in a prior year.

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City could use all of the Comfort Inn Document says DHS wants to, but spokesman says there’s no such plans

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Some more guests may be checking into the Comfort Inn on Redding Street.

According to a “fair share analysis” of the site, provided to the Queens Chronicle, the Department of Homeless Services “proposes to increase current utilization at the Site to encompass all 72 units” at the hotel, which for months has been used as a homeless shelter.

Right now, according to the document, 42 of the 72 units are being used to house homeless families.

Despite the city putting in writing its desire to expand the use of the hotel, located at 137-30 Redding St., a spokesman denies any more families will be moving in.

“We are currently using rooms in this commercial hotel to shelter homeless families with children who would otherwise be turned out onto the street — and we currently have no plans to expand use of this location,” Isaac McGinn said in an email.

News of homeless women and children staying at the Comfort Inn, and the Days Inn & Suites next door, was first reported by the Chronicle in February.

Rooms at both hotels do not have kitchens, which violates the city’s own law that states family shelters must have proper cooking facilities. Meals are delivered to the

hotel three times a day.

Although residents and elected officials have objected to the use of the hotel as a shelter, there have been few calls from neighboring residents about the hotel residents — according to Capt. Brian Bohannon, commanding officer of the 106th Precinct. Officers do respond to calls of domestic issues inside the hotel, though.

Still, leaders voiced opposition to any use of the site as a shelter.

“These types of shelters are not cost effective and do not offer any services that actually help homeless families get back on their feet,” Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) said in an emailed statement. “I will continue to fight the Mayor’s failed policy of housing homeless families in hotels and vow to do everything in my power to preserve the quality of life for my constituents.”

State Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. (D-Howard Beach), who has a number of hotel shelters in his district, called it “a bad policy.”

“It’s not about the Comfort Inn, or the Maspeth hotel or the Quintella Inn in Rockaway,” Addabbo said in an interview last Friday. “It’s a policy that even the mayor admits is a bad policy. So why continue a bad policy? Because it’s a crisis that you can’t handle at this point.” continued on page 19

The city has put in writing that it would like to use all of the units at the Comfort Inn on Redding Street in Ozone Park — but a spokesman said there are no such plans right now. Elected officials FILE PHOTO continued to call housing homeless families there a “bad policy.”

Pol: Street cleaning for Cross Bay Blvd.

To take place during overnight hours

by Anthony O’Reilly

PHOTO COURTESY DINO BONO

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

Thanking U.S. veterans To those who fought for our country’s freedom, the Howard Beach Kiwanis Club salutes you.

The South Queens Kiwanians last Thursday held their second annual Disabled Veterans Dinner at the Lawrence Country Club.

More than 165 people showed up to the dinner, including about 80 disabled veterans with their aides.

The former soldiers came from the St.

Albans, Fort Hamilton and Northport VA hospitals.

Seen here, Kiwanis Club member Abe Garcia, left, Secretary Dino Bono and Bertha Mallma pose with 95-year-old World War II veteran Mr. Lao. Each veteran received a letter from state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato and Gov. Cuomo, thanking them for their service.

Street sweepers will be making their way down Cross Bay Boulevard from Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park to 165th Avenue in Howard Beach for nine mont h s , C ou nci l m a n Er ic U l r ich (R-Ozone Park) announced at the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association’s monthly meeting Monday.

“We were able to do it without having to do alternate side of the street parking,” the councilman said.

The cleaning will take place on a day that has not yet been determined, during the overnight hours as to not impede parking in front of businesses.

“Everyone will be out of the way then,” Ulrich said.

The cleaning will take place for 36 weeks, Ulrich added.

Howard Beach does not have alternate side of the street parking, making it difficult to get street sweepers to clean the area’s main corridor.

Betty Braton, chairwoman of Community

Street sweepers will soon be making their way down Cross Bay Boulevard. FILE PHOTO Board 10, thanked the councilman for bringing the service to the area.

“We are very grateful for that,” Braton said at the civic meeting.

Joann Ariola, president of the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association, was also grateful.

“I think it’s great for the storeowners, who have been doing it all on their own all these years,” Ariola said Tuesday. “I Q think it’s terrific.”

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P Joe Lhota: just the right man to fix the subways

EDITORIAL

L

AGE

ucky Joe Lhota — the guy’s not even on the job for a week as chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority when a subway train derails, injuring about three dozen people but, thank goodness, killing none.

It appears at this time that the cause was an extra subway rail left between the ones the trains ride on — a typical railroad practice, except that it wasn’t properly secured.

Although it seems unlikely, given that the rail weighs about 100 pounds per yard, vibrations from passing trains must have moved it just enough so it became an obstacle. Something apparently did.

Two supervisors were suspended without pay as the MTA reviews what happened. But lest you think this was purely human error and not a result of the decades of deferred maintenance chickens that are now coming home to roost, consider what a union official told ABC News.

“The pressures and problems of maintaining an older system while still operating 24/7 can lead to something like this,” said Jim Gannon, spokesman for Transit Workers Union Local 100. “Every night, hundreds of them are out doing needed maintenance. They’re under a lot of pressure.”

Probably just the kind of pressure that can lead even an

experienced worker to make a sloppy, dangerous mistake.

So now, with the subways crumbling at a rapidly increasing rate and the regional commuter rail systems not looking much better, Gov. Cuomo has called in Superbureaucrat Lhota to ride to the rescue. It’s a tall order — on-time service has plummeted over the last six years especially — but there could hardly be a better choice.

Lhota has extensive government experience, mixed in with a healthy dose of the private sector. He was deputy mayor for operations under Mayor Rudy Giuliani when the planes hit the towers on Sept. 11, 2001. Thanks to his management, garbage was still collected throughout Manhattan everywhere north of Chambers Street the very next day.

City employees’ paychecks went out. And schools were up and running again the following week.

He saw the MTA through possibly its worst crisis, Superstorm Sandy, in his first go-round as the agency’s leader. He wisely shut the system down before the storm hit, no doubt reducing the damage tremendously. He ordered the deployment of a special shuttle to serve the hard-hit Rockaways and increased transparency by making the agency give the public regular updates on recovery efforts. Even before

LETTERS TO THE Fireworks hurt animals Published every week by

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MARK WEIDLER President & Publisher SUSAN & STANLEY MERZON Founders Raymond G. Sito General Manager Peter C. Mastrosimone Editor-in-Chief Michael Gannon Editor Christopher Barca Associate Editor Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor Ryan Brady Associate Editor Terry Nusspickel Editorial Production Manager Jan Schulman Art Director Moeen Din Associate Art Director Gregg Cohen Production Assistant Joseph Berni Art Department Associate Richard Weyhausen Proofreader Lisa LiCausi Office Manager Stela Barbu Administration Senior Account Executives: Jim Berkoff, Beverly Espinoza

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MEMBER

Dear Editor: Fireworks displays, like the ones sponsored by the New York Philharmonic and NYC Parks Department at the end of concerts in parks citywide, are a cliché. The sound of explosions on a recent Wednesday night was all too familiar — like something was blowing up a few blocks away. But it was only the end of the Philharmonic concert in Central Park and the tired fireworks that many people wish would just stop. This same thing was repeated in Cunningham and Prospect parks.

Enough is enough.

The City of New York’s rhetoric about its new WildlifeNYC Campaign is not believable.

Those same raccoons lauded on subway posters are frightened out of their minds when explosions go off in the park — their home. I have been at the park when I heard the frantic flapping of wings in reaction to the first explosions. I wondered how many dead birds were found the next day when it was light. The wonderful music of Dvorak, Bernstein and Gershwin should be allowed to stand on its own.

Fireworks displays are an environmental disaster, releasing chemicals into the air, soil and water. The noise causes extreme stress to carriage horses, pet dogs, cats and the many wildlife species that occupy the parks. People who have pets can attest to how stressed they become. Terrorized dogs have been known to run off and get lost. © Copyright 2017 by MARK I PUBLICATIONS, INC. All rights reserved.

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Sandy, he had improved operations by implementing the Fastrack program, which targeted repairs where they were most needed, akin to how the Police Department had been rapidly reducing crime through its CompStat program.

While the subway system’s condition has been deteriorating rapidly the last several years, its problems stretch back decades. Mayors have always resisted fare hikes that would have brought in more revenue, instead forcing people who don’t use the system to subsidize it through taxes and tolls.

Maybe another fair hike is needed? And certainly Uber patrons should have to pay the 50-cent surcharge that all yellow and green cab users have to fork over for each ride.

Another source of more MTA revenue — which is needed to speed repairs — is the billions of dollars the state has recently collected from the financial industry. Gov. Cuomo has directed much of that to big projects like the Tappan Zee Bridge, but it’s also needed on the rails.

Give Lhota some credit already. He rushed to the scene of the derailment, while Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio were MIA. And he’s already achieved one miracle: getting Cuomo and de Blasio to agree on something. Both say Lhota is the right man for the job. There’s nothing he can’t do!

E DITOR

The noise can be heard for miles, sounding like explosions. The “bombs bursting in air” are also upsetting to returning war veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The good news is that there are ecofriendly and quiet versions of fireworks — essentially light shows. Other cities are doing it. New York can do it also.

Please take a copy of this letter and share it with your Council member.

Elizabeth Forel Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages Manhattan

could she even say that Mr. Warmier was deserving of that horrendous treatment by those animals in North Korea? I hope that no other school in this country will even consider her for a teaching position.

If she is not happy with our country, then perhaps she should pack her bags and go live in North Korea, to see what hell on Earth is really like!

John Amato Fresh Meadows

Prof’s got no class

Dear Editor: I am responding to a letter from Robert LaRosa from Whitestone in the June 15 Queens Chronicle stating that since Vice President Pence is anti-gay (??), and since Trump selected him, Trump must have the same views (“Trump-Pence vs. LGBT”).

Dear Editor: Kathy Dettwyler, the adjunct professor from the University of Delaware who said Otto Warmier got exactly what he deserved, is an absolute disgrace to our country! How

Trump’s not anti-gay

C M SQ page 9 Y K

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Medicaid, environmental programs, programs for the elderly, housing — the list goes on ...).

F: for firing FBI Director James Comey and the fallout which followed.

F: for lack of leadership skills and lack of diversity in the Cabinet.

F: for being aggressive and unpresidential at the NATO meeting in May. That behavior was embarrassing and disgraceful. A May 26 New York Times editorial states, “Instead of explicitly endorsing the mutual defense pledge at the heart of the alliance, Mr. Trump lectured the members for falling short on pledges to spend two percent of their gross domestic products on the military, much as he hectored them on this subject during his presidential campaign.”

President Kennedy, President Clinton and President Obama would never, ever behave this way. They respect others.

Trump continues to act like a bully and continues to alienate this country. He does get an A+ for getting people to protest again for great causes (civil rights, women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, etc …). We were 400,000 strong in GOP puts party first NYC on January 20 and in DC, one-half milDear Editor: Mr. 45 had the nerve to say at a GOP rally lion voices of discontent as well.

And he gets an A because without him, in Iowa that the Democrats are obstructionists! This remark shows his ignorance of Alec Baldwin could not impersonate him so perfectly. Alec is a smashing political history. success! So thank you for that!

While Obama was celebrat- ONLINE Recommendations: ing his 2009 Inaugural Ball, a 1) Study the Constitution and group of top GOP leaders — at a Miss an article or a take a class. secret dinner — stated that they letter cited by a writer?

2) Re-read, learn, respect the would “Just Say No” to Obama’s Want breaking news Bill of Rights (The first 10 agenda. During the 2008 elecfrom all over Queens? amendments to the Constitution, the GOP campaign slogan Find the latest news, tion; they guarantee the civil was Country First. Obama took past reports from all rights of U.S. citizens). office in the midst of a major over the borough and 3) Try to be more presideneconomic recession, brought on more at qchron.com. tial, if that’s even possible.

by Mr. 43. Unemployment fell 4) Stop bullying, treat people by 750,000 each month. The Dow dropped to 6,700 points in March 2009. with respect; listen to what they have to say Yet, all GOP Congressional leaders could say with an open mind.

5) Release your tax returns. was “Just Say No.” Folks, these Republican “obstructionists” 6) Be honest and tell the truth. put party first, not country!

7) Focus on the needs of the American peoAnthony G. Pilla ple, their interests, and not the rich.

Forest Hills 8) Stop making cuts that affect the disadvantaged, the elderly, seniors and the disabled.

9) Stop putting incompetent people in posi‘F’ is for Fail tions of power.

Dear Editor: 10) Lighten up on your tweets (less tweets); June is usually the time for report cards. I focus on your job. believe Trump should get his report card. Let’s 11) Don’t lie. begin with six months of failure. But I will 12) Don’t fire people unless you have a give grades and recommendations. good reason.

F: for not doing enough to protect the envi13) Review these recommendations with an ronment (his plan to remove the United States open mind. from the Paris climate agreement).

14) No discrimination.

F: for cutting National Service programs Carol Lynn Lustgarten (budget proposal eliminating corps and Forest Hills national service and with it, AmeriCorps and Vista, one of Kennedy’s first National WE’RE MOVING! service programs). He also cut the Peace Corps by 15 percent.

As of July 1, the Queens Chronicle office F: for conduct unbecoming of a president. will be located at: F: for trying to implement a Muslim ban The Shops at Atlas Park (discrimination).

71-19 80th Street, Suite 8-201 F: for still not releasing his tax returns.

Glendale, NY 11385 F: for trying to spend over $1 billion on a Phone: 718-205-8000 • Fax: 718-205-1957 border wall (money that could be better spent qchron.com on education, health insurance, drug treatment,

©2017 M1P • SENK-071908

Mr. LaRosa ended his letter with “Wake up, idiots!” First of all, it’s sad to think name-calling will prove your point. It only proves you don’t have confidence in your own words.

Secondly, Trump became the Republican candidate and was elected on his agenda.

Trump said he doesn’t care whom you marry.

There are large groups of Gays for Trump, because they believe in his words and promises. I have gay friends who support Trump.

Trump is president, not Pence. I didn’t check the facts of all the legislation signed by Pence that Mr. LaRosa mentions. But how long ago was this and did his politics change somewhat since then?

I believe President Trump selected Pence on his Christian, patriotic and conservative policies, and obviously made a good choice.

Trump won the election with Pence as his running mate!

Patricia Guglielmo Howard Beach

E DITOR

Page 9 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

LETTERS TO THE

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 10

C M SQ page 10 Y K

Vandalism causes internet outage Boro Chamber of commerce chief says tens of thousands of dollars lost

PHOTOS BY JOANN ARIOLA

A new St. Helen church

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Parishoners and clergy on Tuesday celebrated the completed interior renovation of St. Helen Roman Catholic Church in Howard Beach. The church, located at 157-10 83 St., has been closed for months as the repairs were taking place.

In an April interview with “Currents” — a news show on the Diocese of Brooklyn’s official TV channel — St. Helen pastor the Rev. Francis

Colamaria described a priest not having his church being “like an Italian not having his kitchen and working on a hot plate. It is terrible.”

The project consisted of installing new floors, walls and expanded seating — allowing for 150 more worshipers to sit in the church.

Old statues and art work were also placed back into the renovated house of worship.

Movie nights in Howard Beach Grab your picnic basket, some popcorn, a blanket, your best friend and a chair and get ready for free movie nights in the park in Howard Beach.

The Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic Association, Howard Beach Kiwanis Club, New York Families for Autistic Children, the Charles Park Conservancy and the National Parks Service are teaming up to show two movies at Charles Park, weather permitting.

The first event will take place on Friday, July 21 starting at 7 p.m.

At that time, the 1993 classic “The

Sandlot,” will be shown.

The movie tells the story of a group of kids enjoying their summer vacation by playing baseball in a lot, swimming at — and being banned from — the community pool and trying to retrieve a baseball autographed by Babe Ruth. The second movie will be shown Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in the park — the film for that date has not yet been determined.

Anyone with questions on either event should contact the civic by emailing Q hblcivic2014@gmail.com.

— Anthony O’Reilly

Borough President Melinda Katz criticized Spectrum for not immediately giving customers information about the central Queens internet outage, the result of criminal vandalism. The PHOTOS VIA TOWN OF GRAFTON, MASS. AND BY RYAN BRADY issue has since been resolved.

by Ryan Brady Associate Editor

When vandalism to a fiber optic cable caused an internet and cable outage on Monday, around 60,000 Spectrum customers in Queens lost access to the World Wide Web. Borough President Melinda Katz tweeted frustration about Spectrum, a Charter Communications brand, not reaching out to customers about the outage immediately: “no info from @Spectrum to customers for 12+ hours (since outage began at 2AM) is unacceptable.”

According to Charter spokesman John Bonomo, the company started to notice disruptions between 4 and 5 a.m. on Monday.

After that, they began investigating the issue with the NYPD. The outage, he said, affected only central Queens. “[T]he restoration was gradual as the fibers were re-spliced and repaired, with the final restoration during the late night hours Monday,” he told the Chronicle in an email.

Citing the issue of security, Bonomo declined to say exactly where the vandalism happened.

The NYPD, which is investigating the damage, told the Chronicle that it has three criminal mischief complaints on file for the vandalism: two locations in the 107th Precinct and one in the 112th Precinct.

Charter Communications said it would assist the police in their probe.

With its technicians working on the problem, Spectrum tweeted an update in the afternoon. “Queens, NY customers, our technicians are continuing to work to restore services,” the company said. “We appreciate your patience.”

According to Queens Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Tom Grech, “tens of thousands of dollars” were lost by borough businesses who could not process credit card information during the outage.

“We’re so dependent upon the digital world right now,” he said. “It’s unfortunate that vandals act in such a manner during situations like this.”

Many took to Twitter to voice their frustration about the outage. “@Ask_Spectrum Is the Queens NY outage due to a cut cable or #Spectrumstrike? No service since 3am. Spectrum..making America the WORST again!” a user named Martin Woolf tweeted at 2:41 p.m. Monday.

A user named Chen tweeted “unbelievable! Internet and cable #spectrumoutage in [R]ego [P]ark still not resolved” at 5:13 p.m.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3 has been striking against Charter since March, the month that its contract with them expired. Recently, the union criticized the company for contracting out-ofstate employees during the strike, which it charged violated the company’s franchise agreement with the City of New York, which Charter denied.

A business representative for Local 3 could not be reached for comment prior to deadline.

Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows), who rallied with the strikers last week, declined to comment.

Some tweeted that the outage would not have happened were the workers striking and their jobs being performed by other people.

“Union Techs woulda had this fixed HOURS ago,” @JinxDaProphet tweeted.at Q 10:54 p.m.

C M SQ page 11 Y K

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 12

C M SQ page 12 Y K

Mayor reveals Rikers closure ‘roadmap’ BdB wants inmate population down by 25 percent in five years

by Ryan Brady Associate Editor

Mayor de Blasio has released more details on what the replacement for the Rikers Island jail facilities will be like and the process of setting up a new corrections system with facilities throughout the five boroughs. To a mixed response, City Hall published a plan called “Smaller, Safer, Fairer: A Roadmap to Closing Rikers Island” last Thursday.

Over a three-year period, the city will invest $30 million to expedite safely shrinking the jail complex’s inmate population.

It will also start developing and renovating correctional facilities that are not on the island, a process it estimates will take years.

And, to ensure that those who are incarcerated or employed at Rikers are safe, the de Blasio administration will renovate facilities and expand services there.

The “Smaller” plan component aims to reduce the daily inmate population by 25 percent to 7,000 by 2021 and then further shrink it to 5,000, according to the de Blasio administration.

Existing facilities throughout the five boroughs, not including Rikers, could only host an inmate population of 2,300 people.

Shrinking the jail system’s size is, according to the mayor, to be achieved in several ways. The city will replace brief jail sentences with programs that curb recidivism; speed up transfers to state custody and processing time for felonies; reduce the number of young adults, women, parole violators and people with substance disorders and mental illness in the jails; and help inmates pay for bail. Additionally, the mayor wants to allow judges to assess danger as a factor in bail decisions; de Blasio says that more precise risk assessment by judges will result in fairer detainment decisions.

Making the correction complexes humane and safe is,

The location for the 106th Precinct’s National Night Out Against Crime on Aug. 1 will be the Harold Schneiderman Playground, located on the corner of 83rd Street and 155th Avenue in Lindenwood.

Residents of Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Howard Beach and Hamilton Beach will be able to enjoy free food, music, dancing and other activities at the playground from 6 to 9 p.m.

The 106th Precinct Community Council rotates the location of its night out every year. Last year, it was the Addabbo Playground in Ozone Park. National Night Out is an evening that brings neighbors, police officers and officials from across the U.S. together for a night of fun and Q activities in an effort to deter crime.

— Anthony O’Reilly

TELL US THE NEWS! REPORT COMMUNITY EVENTS AND ISSUES DIRECTLY TO

ASSOCIATE EDITOR ANTHONY J. O’REILLY AT (718) 205.8000, EXT. 122

Mayor de Blasio, seen here speaking to corrections officers at Rikers Island, has released an ambitious “roadmap” with strategies to make closing the jail complex possible.

PHOTO COURTESY NYC / FLICKR

worst criminals from behaving badly.

“We’re not just talking about people who are re-arrested for spitting on the sidewalk,” he told the Chronicle. “We’re talking about felony assault, attempted murder, robbery. We’re talking about rape.”

Husamudeen also drew attention to the fact that Rikers Island continued on page 22

Asaro, Gotti admit to arson crimes

PHOTO COURTESY DINO BONO

For the latest news visit qchron.com

National Night Out in the 106

fittingly, the aim of the “Safer” part of the initiative. Over the next five years, all existing facilities on Rikers will be repaired.

Funding to the tune of $100 million has been dedicated to creating a Department of Corrections Training Academy, which City Hall says will make officers safer. Technological upgrades are planned to increase safety, transparency and accountability. The de Blasio administration also plans to expand the amount of housing dedicated to people with severe mental illnesses.

To further achieve his aim, the mayor has also outlined initiatives to make the system fairer. One includes refining and creating more alternatives to punitive segregation. Securing postincarceration employment is what another component of the “Fairer” part of the roadmap looks to accomplish: Every inmate will enter the Jail to Jobs program upon finishing a city sentence. To make inmates less isolated and more linked to the community, de Blasio wants to start a pilot program for an expedited transportation option to Rikers Island, renovate visiting areas and allow for longer visit times. For correction officers, the mayor also wants to improve professional development and staff well-being. Those entering the jail complex as inmates will also all be offered re-entry planning, which would set them up with a minimum of five hours spent in vocational, therapeutic and educational programming every day.

“We are building a correctional system that is smaller, safer and fairer – one in which jails are safe and humane,” the mayor said in a prepared statement.

But not everyone is as happy about the “roadmap” as de Blasio.

Pointing to the severity of their crimes, Corrections Officers Benevolent Association President Elias Husamudeen doubts that the plan to reduce the inmate population can actually stop the

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

Bonanno crime family capo Vincent Asaro and John Gotti, the grandson of the “Dapper Don,” pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to setting fire to the car of a man who cut Asaro off in traffic, according to published reports.

Asaro could face 51 months in prison while Gotti — the Gambino family scion is already serving an eight year prison sentence for possessing and selling drugs — could get an additional five to six years in the slammer, under federal sentencing guidelines.

Federal prosecutors announced in March that Asaro had Gotti and an accomplice, Matthew Rullan, torch the vehicle of a man who cut in front of him at a traffic light in April 2012.

“I made arrangements with this person to take care of it, and it was done,” Asaro said in court, according to reports.

The 82-year-old mobster, of Ozone Park, was acquitted of taking part in the famous $6 million 1978 Lufthansa heist — the planning, execution and aftermath of which was depicted in “Goodfellas.”

Community partners John Gotti and Vincent Asaro, not pictured, FILE PHOTO pleaded guilty Tuesday.

Prosecutors were unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt Asaro had any role in the theft.

Gotti, the 23-year-old from Howard Beach, reportedly said in federal court “My role was to drive the getaway car.”

A federal judge set the sentencings for Q Oct. 24.

Almonte’s Key Food is now more than just a place to get your groceries — it’s a company looking after the well-being of Howard Beach. The store, located at 163-30 Cross Bay Blvd., is now taking care of an Adopt-a-Highway site at Cross Bay and 153rd Avenue.

Celebrating here are Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton, left, Councilman Eric Ulrich, representative for Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato Irene Dougherty, state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr., Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association President Joann Ariola, Cathy Harrison, Key Food owner Frank Almonte, Maria Asaro, Anthony Almonte and Abe Garcia.

C M SQ page 13 Y K

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73-60 Grand Avenue Maspeth, NY 11378

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 14

C M SQ page 14 Y K

Lawmakers are back in Albany ...

But a deal on renewing mayoral control has not been reached yet

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

State lawmakers headed back to Albany on Wednesday for a special session called by Gov. Cuomo so that mayoral control of the city’s public schools could be extended.

But as of press time Wednesday, June 28, such a deal had not yet passed the Legislature.

Stay tuned to qchron.com for breaking details.

Albany’s session ended last Wednesday, June 21, with no deal on renewing City Hall’s control over the public school system because the Legislature’s chambers were unable to come to an agreement on the issue. The GOPled Senate had passed three bills renewing it for one, two and five years, respectively — but each came with conditions that favor charter and private schools.

The Democratic-controlled Assembly’s bill extended it for two years but was linked to the extension of several taxes, such as property levies.

Cuomo called the special session Tuesday to address the matter, and possibly other issues, according to published reports.

“The Governor is calling an extraordinary legislative session for Wednesday, June 28 to take up the issue of Mayoral Control,” Secretary to the Governor Melissa DeRosa said in a statement. “The Governor has discussed the extraordinary session with the legislative

One week after they ended their session, state lawmakers are back at the Capitol to reach an agreement on mayoral control of public schools. Published reports say it will be extended for FILE PHOTO one year, with no strings attached. leaders.”

It’s unclear when a vote on mayoral control will take place but according to some published reports, it will be renewed for one year with no strings attached.

Mayoral control is set to end midnight, July 1. Without it, the city would have to re-establish the Board of Education with the mayor

appointing two members and the borough presidents appointing one each to the central board. The panel would then pick a chancellor and elections for district school boards would be held next spring.

Even after the session ended, Mayor de Blasio was optimistic a deal would be reached by July 1 or before the 2017-18

school year started.

“Today, I have an open mind hoping that Albany will come back and quickly finish the work,” he said on the Brian Lehrer show last Thursday.

It’s not the first time lawmakers have had to return to the Capitol to address mayoral control, first implemented under then-Mayor Bloomberg in 2002.

Such an instance happened in 2009 when mayoral control lapsed under then-Mayor Bloomberg — the law was eventually renewed that August. Back then, the delay was due in part to a power struggle in the state Senate.

Brian Browne, a political science professor at St. John’s University, predicted Monday the renewal would come after June 30.

“I think you’ll see something before the next school year,” he said in an interview before the governor’s announcement.

Some in Albany believe Cuomo did not push hard enough before the session ended to get all sides to an agreement, like he has with other issues such as union strikes.

“I think there’s some of that Cuomo vs. de Blasio interplay here,” Browne said, referring to the ongoing rivalry between the two. “It doesn’t seem like he’s all in.”

The political science professor added Cuomo has “laid low” in Albany since the Q budget was passed in March.

Court throws out majority of CFE suit But says plaintiffs can continue with complaint that NYC is due money

by Anthony O’Reilly

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Associate Editor

The Court of Appeals Tuesday dismissed the majority of a lawsuit claiming the state has shortchanged school districts statewide, but did allow the plaintiffs to continue to trial with claims that New York City and Syracuse schools are due money.

The lawsuit, filed by advocacy group New Yorkers for Students’ Education Rights, argued New York has failed to abide by the 2006 ruling — made by the same court — that the state underfunded city schools by billions of dollars, denying students their constitutional right to a quality education.

The judges, in a 5-1 decision, said such challenges may only be made individual districts.

The original suit was brought by the Campaign for Fiscal Equity.

“Our CFE decisions can be understood as a way to bring a challenge under the Education Article even if the state’s system overall is designed to provide a sound basic education, but such challenges must be brought on a school district level,” Judge Rowan Wilson said, writing for the majority. “Here, drawing every inference in favor of the NYSER plaintiffs, it is not possible to infer that all, or even most, school districts in the state fall below the constitutional floor, and plaintiffs concede that many school districts are not deficient.”

The claims that the five boroughs and Syracuse were underfunded may continue to trial because the plaintiffs, “sufficiently alleged deficient inputs and outputs” for both municipalities … The complaint also alleges a causal link between inadequate State funding and the failure of those

two school districts to provide a sound basic education.”

However, the argument that the state has failed to provide such funding under the prior CFE ruling cannot move forward in court because “that litigation has ended,” Wilson wrote in his decision, though he added such arguments may prove “valuable to the NYSER plaintiffs in framing their case as they proceed.”

Wilson added, “Plaintiffs here will need to adduce evidence at trial proving, on the basis of current data, that the State has breached its constitutional obligation to provide a sound basic education to students in public schools.”

The state’s highest court’s ruling reverses that made by a state Supreme Court judge and the Appellate Division that the plaintiffs had the right to sue New York for underfunding unspecified school districts.

The case will now return to the state Supreme Court, where arguments will be heard by both sides at a date yet to be determined.

People on both sides of the case saw the decision as a victory.

“In allowing the case to proceed to trial, New York’s highest court reaffirmed the State’s obligation to provide every child in New York with the opportunity for a constitutionally sound basic education,” the Education Law Center said in a statement. “The Court of Appeals also reaffirmed the judiciary’s central role in assessing, on a district-by-district basis, whether the State has met that obligation ‘even if the State’s system overall is designed to provide a sound basic education.’”

Rich Azzopardi, a spokesman for Gov Cuomo said in an emailed statement, “We are pleased that the court ruled in the

The Court of Appeals ruled an advocacy group can move forward with a complaint that city schools are due money by the FILE PHOTO state. state’s favor on every issue it contested and once and for all dismissed the false claims paid lobbyists have been peddling around Albany for years.

“The truth is that New York dedicates more money perpupil to education than any other state — including over $25.8 billion in this year’s Budget — and we’ll continue to work to strengthen our public schools and provide New York children Q with the education they deserve,” Azzopardi added.

C M SQ page 15 Y K

After hours-long track event, Briarwood school dedicates bench to Karina Vetrano Phil Vetrano didn’t like Archbishop Molloy High School when he was a student there.

“I hated the attitude, I hated the discipline,” said Vetrano, a graduate of the Class of 1974.

But what he loves about it now — other than the fact it probably “kept me out of prison” — is how the school community comes together to support its own, as it did last Friday to honor Phil’s daughter, the late Karina Vetrano.

The school held a walkathon in which dozens of people walked, jogged or ran around the Briarwood school’s track in honor of Karina — who was an avid runner.

Phil Vetrano, who would often run with his daughter, started the event by running a lap by himself before dozens of others joined him.

The event raised money for a scholarship in her honor, which has amassed about $50,000.

Vetrano was on her daily run last August when she was sexually assaulted and strangled to death in Spring Creek Park, a short distance from her Howard Beach home.

The man who allegedly committed the act, Brooklyn resident Chanel Lewis, faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted. Lewis admitted to killing the 30-yearold, according to the NYPD. After the event and a breakfast at the school, a bench there was dedicated to the 2004 graduate, Q “Forever in our hearts.”

— Anthony O’Reilly

Molloy’s alumni program director, and a classmate of Karina, Matt Rizzotti, left, stands with fellow Stanner state Sen. Joe Addabbo Jr. and the school’s president, Richard Karsten.

Page 15 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

Molloy runs for a beloved graduate

Phil Vetrano, Karina’s father, starts the event holding a pair of his late daughter’s PHOTOS BY ANTHONY O’REILLY running shoes.

Dozens of Karina’s classmates, friends and family members ran alongside students attending the Briarwood high school now. Some ran the track while other s jog ged or walked it.

A bench at the school was dedicated in honor of Karina PHOTO COURTESY JOE SOMMO Vetrano, class of 2004.

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C M SQ page 16 Y K

Diocese announces compensation plan Queens sex abuse survivor urges other victims to take advantage of it

by Anthony O’Reilly Associate Editor

O

n the surface, Shaun Dougherty’s life is a fairly average one — he’s mar ried and owns the Crescent Grill, a farm-to-table restaurant in Long Island City. But for thousands of others with childhoods like Dougherty’s, life has not turned out so well.

In Johnstown, Penn., his native town, Dougherty was molested by a Catholic priest at his elementary school and church on an “almost daily” basis for three years.

Hundreds of thousands of people across the world have accused Catholic priests of sexually abusing them — the exact number of cases is unknown, as many victims never come forward to report their attackers. Some struggle to ever recover from the abuse, having difficulties keeping a job or any kind of relationship. Many suffer from mental illnesses and some commit suicide. “[The church] recognizes the sins of some of her members: the sufferings, the experiences and the pain of minors who were abused sexually by priests,” Pope Francis said in a letter to bishops late last year. “It is a sin that shames us ... Persons responsible for the protection of those children destroyed their dignity. We regret this deeply and we beg forgiveness.”

For Dougherty, the second-youngest of nine kids in a Catholic family, survivors like him want to be made whole again.

“We want to be the same person we were before the abuse began,” he said.

Now, the Diocese of Brooklyn is offering what the abuse survivor calls “an important first step” toward helping victims do just that. Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, head of the d iocese that also represents Queens, announced last Thursday a program to compensate those who have been sexually abused by clergy members.

“I am well aware that no amount of money will ever heal the scars of abuse, but this compensation program is a concrete expression of our contrition and our desire to make amends,” DiMarzio said in a statement.

Shaun Dougherty, molested as a child, is urging victims to take advantage of the diocese’s COURTESY PHOTO plan.

ways. The first is that the IRCP only allows those abused by diocesan priests to be compensated — victims of order priests, such as Franciscans or Jesuits, cannot take advantage of it.

“This is a concern,” said Barbara Doris, SNAP’s managing director. “How can you say you’re not responsible for them when they’re working for you?”

Secondly, the cases handled under the IRCP are confidential and priests names are not revealed.

“Where are these priests now? ” Doris asked. “It’s dangerous and unnecessary.”

The diocese, in its statement, said it will delegate “claims of sexual abuse against a minor, irrespective of when the alleged abuse occurred, to the appropriate law enforcement agencies i nclud i ng t he local d ist r ict attorney.”

Dougherty would now like to see the Catholic Church be more “transparent” on The Diocese of Brooklyn last week announced a program to compensate those who have been how it disciplines accused and convicted priests, and spend less money lobbying PHOTO BY ZUBAREV DMITRY VIA PEXELS sexually abused by clergy members. against efforts such as the Child Victims Act. “It’s the next, necessary step for the “It is an option that is only available to a The program, called The Independent Reconciliation and Compensation Program, percentage of the country,” he said. “The nation,” he said.

The Child Victims Act is a state bill that will be administered by attorney Kenneth childhood sex abuse is rampant throughout Feinberg and business manager Camille our entire country, and now we have a win- would allow sexual abuse survivors to bring Biros — both of whom have years of experi- dow of opportunity that most people in our civil court cases against clergy up until their 50th birthday and felony cases until their ence in overseeing settlements, including the situation may never, ever get.”

That includes Dougherty, who was never 28th. Right now, they can only do so by their September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and payouts to those abused by Jerry San- compensated for the abuse he went through 23rd. The Republican-held state Senate has not allowed a vote on the legislation to take dusky, the disgraced former assistant football in Pennsylvania.

“I would register,” he said, adding that place since it was first introduced more than coach for Penn State.

10 years ago. For mer Feinberg and Biros will have “total inde- funds should be available Queens Assemblywoman pendence in determining compensation for in other dioceses. “It Ma rge Ma rkey sponsurvivors,” according to the diocese, which could be spread throughor the first time in a sored the bill in the lower will be unable to overturn or object to any out the country and the chamber for years and world.” decisions made by the two. survivor’s life, the last June claimed DiMarThe IRCP was also “We commend Bishop DiMarzio and the zio offered her $5,000 in Brooklyn Diocese for their decision to imple- praised by the Manhatcontrol moves from 2007 to drop the bill — a t an-based Catholic ment the Brooklyn IRCP,” Feinberg said. claim the bishop denied.

The rollout follows the Archdiocese of New League for Religious and your abuser in the She caught flack in MasYork — which represents Manhattan, Staten Civ i l R ig ht s , w h ich church to you.” peth for carrying the bill Island, the Bronx and seven suburban coun- according to the group’s and was labeled “antities — implementing its own IRCP late last website “defend s the — Shaun Dougherty Catholic” by some before year, also overseen by Feinberg and Biros. rights of Catholics ... to she was defeated in the The Brooklyn diocese states donations by participate in American parishioners will not be used to fund the com- p u b l i c l i f e w i t h o u t d e f a m a t i o n o r Democratic primary by now-Assemblyman Brian Barnwell (D-Maspeth). pensation program — instead, it will take out discrimination.”

The IRCP, Dougherty added, offers more “Our immediate reaction is that we coma loan to pay for the unspecified cost and pay mend Bishop DiMarzio and the Diocese of than just money for victims of abuse. it back with income from rental properties.

“For the first time in a survivor’s life, the The website bishop-accountability.org — Brooklyn for taking this step,” Rick Hinwhich tracks cases of sexual abuse by clergy shaw, director of communications for the control moves from your abuser in the members via lawsuits and news reports — Catholic League, said in an interview. “We church to you,” he said. “You have the say.

You say what you need to heal. That’s why says 73 diocesan priests have faced some sort think it’s a very positive thing.”

Speaking of the archdiocese’s efforts, Hin- it’s so important.” of accusation, and 188 accusations have been Doris — who said SNAP is “grateful” for shaw said, “It appears to be working well in made in total. any efforts to bring some closure to victims DiMarzio said he’s met with 50 victims of this effort to bringing justice for victims.”

But the Catholic group believes too much of abuse — urged survivors to “do your abuse during his time as bishop of Brooklyn of a spotlight is put on the Church’s sex research and look into it. and at his prior post in Camden, NJ. “I don’t know what’s best for you,” she “It is difficult to hear about the pain abuse scandal and that other entities should added. caused by the criminal behavior of members rollout programs similar to the IRCP. Victims who previously reported sexual “What about the public schools and the of the clergy,” said the bishop, who came to abusive teachers there? ” Hinshaw asked. abuse will be contacted by Feinberg and New York in 2003.

Dougherty — an advocate for sex abuse “Where is the public outcry for them to Biros with details on how to apply for compensation. Those who have not reported victims — commended the diocese for address that?”

For the national advocacy group SNAP — abuse and wish to file a claim can visit implementing the program, a step rarely seen in other parts of the country. He urged survi- Survivors Networks of those Abused by BrooklynDiocese-IRCP.com or call toll-free Q Priests — the program is “flawed” in two big at 1 (855) 796-3463. vors to take advantage of it.

“F

C M SQ page 17 Y K

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Page 17 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

Our Goal is Zero.

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 18

C M SQ page 18 Y K

Gov picks Lhota to rescue MTA again Former chairman returns to face possibly his toughest challenge yet

by Michael Gannon Editor

As a deputy mayor, he got city workers’ paychecks out two days after 9/11; as head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority he led the effort to get the trains and buses running after Hurricane Sandy.

He even has Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo agreeing on something.

Cuomo is calling on Joe Lhota to pull off the impossible yet again, tapping him as the new chairman of the MTA with the task of corralling the problems of equipment and performance failures that have abounded in recent months.

“Joe Lhota is a tested and experienced leader with the proven track record needed to address the enormous challenges facing the nation’s largest mass transportation system,” Cuomo said in a statement issued by his office. “In the wake of the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, Joe stepped up and delivered for New Yorkers — ensuring our region’s subways, buses and commuter rails were up and running as quickly as possible.

“There is much hard work to be

done to address the MTA’s current failures, and the level of service and daily frustrations commuters are experiencing are completely unacceptable,” Cuomo added. “I know Joe will move to address these issues immediately and ensure a reliable and effective transportation system worthy of the city it serves.”

“This is an incredibly challenging time for the MTA and we will immediately and aggressively tackle the problems the system is facing after decades of disinvestment,” Lhota said in the joint statement. “The hardworking women and men of the MTA are dedicated, driven and talented — they are the engine that makes our city and state run — and working together we will rebuild the system and improve service for all New Yorkers.”

Published reports say that Lhota accepted Cuomo’s appointment 20 minutes before his name was presented for approval in the closing hours of the state Senate session.

He will make $1 per year while staying on at his full-time job as a senior vice president at NYU Langone Medical Center in Manhattan.

A search for a permanent executive officer to run day-to-day operations is ongoing.

Possibly the toughest trick Lhota has pulled off in his public service career is uniting Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio in agreement over his appointment.

De Blasio back in 2013 handily defeated Lhota, the Republican nominee, in the mayoral election. He nevertheless commended Cuomo’s choice and pledged to work with both to get the MTA back on track.

“The MTA is at an important crossroads in its mission to serve the millions of New Yorkers who deserve safe, reliable transportation every day,” de Blasio said. “There are few public servants more capable of helping navigate this critical evolution than Joe Lhota.”

Lhota is the first mass transitrelated subject de Blasio and Cuomo have agreed on for months. Spring has seen an increasing number of accidents — most associated with the Amtrak-operated Penn Station — and numerous failures in subway service, many having to do with signals and other equipment that is 70 years

PS97Q

SCHOOL SPOTLIGHT

old or more.

The delays have tended to manifest themselves during the morning or afternoon rush hours and many have rippled to multiple lines throughout the system.

Some h ave i m pa c t e d fou r boroughs.

The end is not yet in sight, with Amtrak on July 8 beginning months of repairs at Penn Station that could take up to one-third of its tracks out of commission at a time for two months or longer.

Brian Browne, assistant vice president for government relations and a political science professor at St. John’s University, said the appointment was an expedient but smart one that covers a lot of bases for both Cuomo and the MTA. “Joe Lhota’s known, he’s run the MTA and he is eminently qualified,” Browne said. “He’s a New Yorker.

He takes the subway. He gets it.”

Browne did, however, question the process. “[Former Chairman and CEO] Thomas Prendergast resigned five months ago,” Browne said. “Then this last-minute appointment is made

THE

FOREST PARK SCHOOL

Here’s a roundup of recent events in 2017 at PS 97Q, The Forest Park School.

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Recently, some fifth-grade students represented PS 97Q, The Forest Park School, in the Queens South FSC School Challenge.

The administration would like to extend its thanks to Ms. Mahmood, for preparing them well for such a great experience!

SCIENCE FAIR WINNERS PIZZA PARTY

QUEENS SOUTH FSC ANNUAL EXCELLENCE CEREMONY These students received an award at the Queens South Field Support Center’s Second Annual Excellence Awards Ceremony which was held on June 1, at the Queens Museum. Congratulations to all as they were recognized for their social awareness video! Thanks also go to Ms. Rodriguez, the school’s guidance counselor and her interns, Diana and Joanna, Ms. Romano, Ms. Mahmood, the parents and all who were responsible for making this happen!

Congratulations go to Yeiling Cedeno, Tiffany Rodriguez and Eliahs Delgado from 5-404; Savannah Chadee, Michael Morales and Isabella Vasquez from 5-402; Diana Castillo, Maisun Khelef and Ashelyn Feliciano from 5-403; Desiree Guevares, Marie Carrington, Kiara Cortorreal, Rachael Delarosa and Adam Ali from 5-401. Just look at those smiles!

at the very end of the [state Senate] session. If the process was supposed to be about openness and transparency, this certainly was not that.”

Brown and the Citizens Budget Commission both praised Lhota for his stewardship in the days after Hurricane Sandy in 2012; though in a blog entry on its website titled continued on page 21

STEM EXPO On Wednesday, June 7, a few classes had the opportunity to attend the STEM EXPO in the city.

Class K-315, Mrs. Spar, and Ms. Stuart, the science teacher, shared their knowledge about tadpoles and frogs. The parents were very impressed to see their children discuss this topic and share ideas with others.

That evening, with microphones in hand, under the direction of Mrs. Bajit, the technology teacher, and the third-grade staff, Mrs. Cunningham, Ms. Waters, Ms. Delvalle, Ms. Beigay, Ms. Scalzetti, and Mrs. Greene, students sang their little hearts out to their favorite songs for all to enjoy!

PHOTOS COURTESY PS97Q

FSC School Challenge

The third-, fourth- and fifthgrade Science Fair winners enjoyed a celebration for their great work. The students did an amazing job on their projects, so with the help of the upper grade science teacher, Mrs. Vannata, and the financial support of a great PTA, they all enjoyed a pizza party! As you can see on his shirt, Adam Ali from Class 5-401, in the center with Mrs. Vannata, knows “NO PIZZA, NO PARTY!”

Joe Lhota has agreed to come back as chairman of the MTA for $1 a year in an effort to guide the troubled transit agency through a daunting — and FILE PHOTO expensive — overhaul.

C M SQ page 19 Y K

by Christopher Barca Associate Editor

Convicted cop killer Ronell Wilson has officially avoided the death penalty.

Acting U.S. Attorney Bridget Rhode announced Monday that prosecutors will not appeal a 2016 ruling by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis that Wilson cannot be executed because he is intellect ually disabled.

Instead, he will spend the rest of his life in a Texas federal prison with no possibility of parole.

Wilson was originally convicted and

sentenced to death in 2006 for murdering Dets. Rodney Andrews, of Middle Village, and James Nemorin, who lived in South Ozone Park until 2002.

On March 10, 2003, Andrews and Nemorin were attempting to buy weapons from Wilson during an undercover sting operation on Staten Island, when Wilson shot Andrews, whom he suspected to be a cop, in the head execution-style.

The convict, a member of the Stapleton Crew street gang, then did the same to Nemorin as he begged for his life, dumping both bodies on a nearby street.

That death sentence was later overturned by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2010, but was restored after a second trial in 2013.

Citing a 2014 U.S. Supreme Court decision that established such criteria, Garaufis reluctantly ruled that Wilson’s IQ of 70 qualified him as intellectually disabled, making him ineligible to receive the death penalty.

The judge wrote in his decision that he doubts most doctors would find Wilson disabled, but the law required him to rule the way he did.

According to Wilson’s legal team, the

convict’s mother frequently smoked crack cocaine while she was pregnant and his father was an alcoholic.

Wilson was placed in foster care when he was 5 years old, one year before he started displaying violent tendencies in school. By the time he turned 10, he had been hospitalized three times for psychiatric testing after trying to jump out of a window and walking into the middle of busy city streets.

While Wilson was imprisoned in Brooklyn during his second trial, he had sex with a prison guard. She gave birth to a child he Q fathered in 2013.

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continued from page 6 Mayor de Blasio in March unveiled a plan to phase out the use of 360 hotel shelters and cluster apartment sites by building 90 new shelters and expanding 30 others by 2023.

In May, the DHS announced 3,000 people were moved out of cluster sites and into a mix of permanent housing and shelters. At press time, there were a little more than 58,000 people in the shelter system, according to DHS’ own statistics — 22,119 of which are children.

McGinn said the Comfort Inn plays into the mayor’s long-term plan.

“We are utilizing locations like this as a bridge while we phase out the use of all cluster sites and commercial hotels citywide, replacing them with a smaller number of high-quality facilities,” the spokesman said in his statement. “Communities will be the first t o k n ow a s n e w lo c a t io n s a r e identified.”

But the communities haven’t been the first to know of shelter sites in the past, including with the Comfort Inn. Ulrich, Addabbo and Assemblywo m a n S t a c e y P h e f f e r A m a t o (D-Rockaway Park) — who could not be reached for comment on this story by press time — blasted the administration in February for not notifying them of the 50 families being moved into their district.

“There’s been a lack of transparency,” Addabbo said last Friday.

Although McGinn promised the utilization of the Comfort Inn would not change, the DHS has not been forthcoming with its plans for hotels in the past.

In 2014, a city official told hundreds of people it had no plans to house homeless families in the former Pan Am hotel on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst — three weeks later, it shuttled dozens of people by bus there and has since expanded the use. The city said it will put kitchens in all units there by 2019, after Comptroller Scott Stringer approved a contract for the site Q last year.

Page 19 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

No death penalty for killer of Queens cops

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The Richmond Hill High School cricket team took home the championship trophy at the PSAL City Cricket finals. A rain out pushed the championship match from Saturday, June 17 to Sunday, June 18 when RHHS defeated John Adams 118-117 for the title. The John Adams team was 12-0 this season and won 23 matches in a row before being defeated by Richmond Hill.

“It was great to see the team bowl well and hold John Adams to 117 runs,” said cricket coach Lomarshan Persaud. In their previous two matches John Adams scored 178 and 208 runs against Richmond Hill. RHHS freshman Brandon Pydana contributed to the win by scoring 50 runs which earned him MVP honors. For a team with six graduating seniors every match had extra importance. The close group has played together for four years and has seen both victory and defeat.

“I’m so proud of both Coach Persaud and our cricket program” said Athletic Director Neil Ganesh. “Our entire athletic department provides programs that build character, scholarship and athleticism while instilling life-enhancing values.”

The victory clinched John Adams hope of both an undefeated season and back-to-back titles. With its win, RHHS clinched its second city cricket championship in three years.

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 20

C M SQ page 20 Y K

C M SQ page 21 Y K

Two months of repair work ahead, next phase in Sept.

by Christopher Barca Associate Editor

Enjoy the M train while you can, because service is about to disappear for two months in southwest Queens.

Starting Saturday, the M train will cease to operate between the Metropolitan Avenue-Middle Village terminus and the Myrtle Avenue station in Bushwick — a total of seven stops — to make way for two months of work on the metal bridge that spans the railroad tracks near the western end of the Fresh Pond Rail Yard in Glendale.

With the line’s southwest Queens spur out of service, the MTA will offer three different free shuttle bus routes that connect with the M, J and Z lines in Brooklyn.

The first route will run between the Fresh Pond Road station on the Glendale-Ridgewood border and the Myrtle Avenue station, picking up passengers at the Forest Avenue, Seneca Avenue and Myrtle-Wyckoff subway stops in Ridgewood.

Both the second and third routes will begin at the closed Metropolitan AvenueMiddle Village station.

The former will pick up commuters at the three aforementioned stops before ending at Myrtle Avenue, while the latter will take a different path, stopping only at the Jefferson Avenue L train station before ending at the Flushing Avenue M, J and Z stop.

The M train shutdown in southwest Queens FILE PHOTO starts Saturday.

Buses on routes one and two will run every four minutes, while there will be a six-minute wait for the third bus.

The repairs to the century-old metal bridge are badly needed, according to the MTA, as much of its foundation and steel is severely corroded.

It has also been repeatedly hit by trains

na l” “ The O r ig i

passing beneath it, doing a serious amount of damage over the years.

The second phase of the project — a 10-month rebuilding of a 104-year-old section of track between the Central Avenue and Myrtle Avenue stations called the Bushwick Viaduct — is slated to begin in September.

Those repairs will not require a full closure of the M train, which will run between Metropolitan Avenue-Middle Village and Myrtle-Wyckoff, where riders can transfer to the L train.

The strip of track connecting MyrtleWyckoff to the Myrtle Avenue M, J and Z station will be closed, requiring a single, articulated shuttle bus to bridge the gap.

During both phases, the M train will be extended five stops beyond Myrtle Avenue to Broadway Junction in Brooklyn, while the J and Z will make all local stops.

All the work with the M train will be done in advance of the shutdown of the L line in Manhattan, set to start in 2019.

That 18-month project will involve the rebuilding of the East River’s Canarsie Tunnel, which was flooded and severely damaged during Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

L train riders unable to use that line to get to Manhattan are expected to use the M train once the shutdown occurs, making Q repairs on the latter line paramount.

Joe Lhota MTA continued from page 18 “Welcome back, Joe Lhota,” the CBC said he now faces “an assortment of crises more varied and chronic than before,” including aging subway cars, ancient track and signal equipment and stillunspecific commitments to dedicated, long-term streams of funding.

This past week, Cuomo suggested that the solution was to give the governor two more appointments to the MTA board, giving him effective control.

De Blasio countered by saying perhaps the city should take over mass transit.

Rider and business advocacy groups were hopeful last week.

“Joe Lhota is a respected professional who has valuable experience as MTA chair,” said John Raskin, executive director of the Riders Alliance. “The question remains, what is the governor’s plan to fix the subway, and will he give Chairman Lhota the funding he needs to get the job done?”

Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO of the business advocacy group Partnership for New York City, also likes the choice. ”Governor Cuomo has once again recruited an excellent leader for one of the toughest jobs in government,” she said in an email. “Joe Lhota led the MTA through Hurricane Sandy and is the right choice to lead the MTA through the curQ rent crisis.”

Page 21 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

M train shutdown starts Saturday

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Closing Rikers continued from page 12 does not simply house inmates; replacing it would require more than just building structures with cells. Along with the 10 jails, it has a fire house, a hospital, a bakery, a garage and a power plant. “This island is a city,” he said.

Even supporters of shutting down the jail complex, like Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows), excoriated de Blasio for what they consider an unsatisfactory plan.

“The Mayor’s ‘plan’ barely expands supervised release, abdicates responsibility for the siting of new jails, and is overly reliant for keeping people out of jail on an updated ‘flight risk’ assessment tool that currently does not even exist,” Lancman, the chairman of the Committee on Courts and Legal Services, said in a prepared statement.

The lawmaker added that the plan does does not make shutting Rikers down achievable in 10 years, which de Blasio has said is his goal for timing.

JustLeadershipUSA activist Glenn Martin, who has been a dedicated advocate for shutting the jail system down, was also unimpressed.

“He must lay out concrete steps tied to a timeline that recognizes the urgency of ending the harm caused by Rikers,” Martins said in a prepared statement. “Simply Q put, ten years is way too long.”

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Untapped Cities — a blog chronicling unique, often unknown sites across the five boroughs — will be offering a tour on Sept. 23 of the abandoned rail right-of-way some want to see turned into a park and others who wish to see trains running on it again.

The 3.5-mile tour will be led by Andy Stone, New York City program director for the Trust for Public Land, starting at 11 a.m. Tickets are $35 and are available at untappedcities.com/ tours.

The right-of-way, connecting Ozone Park to Rego Park, has been abandoned for 60 years.

The Tr ust for Public Land and Friends of the QueensWay are the driving forces behind the park proposal and both recently released renderings of what part of it might look like and announced plans to complete the first stretch by 2020.

Meanwhile, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Rockaway Park) announced last week an independent contractor will join the MTA in a study — to be released this winter — to look at the feasibility of putting trains back Q there.

— Anthony O’Reilly

PHOTO COURTESY RESORTS WORLD

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 22

C M SQ page 22 Y K

Helping young explorers fly Resorts World Casino on Tuesday donated $5,000 to the Jamaica Bay Guardian Program, an organization that seeks to educate people on the importance of the South Queens estuary.

The group is led by Don Riepe, left, seen here with young nature enthusiasts. Riepe is also the program director for the Ameri-

can Littoral Society’s northeast chapter and has watched over Jamaica Bay for decades, leading nature walks and cleanups around the area.

Since opening in 2011, Resorts World has teamed up with Riepe for cleanups on the bay and has hosted photo exhibits focusing on the wildlife spotted there.

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C M SQ page 23 Y K Page 23 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

Supreme Court will hear travel ban case Queens pols decry Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s order, allowed to mostly go into effect

by Christopher Barca Associate Editor

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STAA-072043

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Stacey Pheffer Amato 718-945-9550

ASFE-071892

For the latest news visit qchron.com

T he U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that President Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s controversial ban on travel from si x Mu sl i m -m ajor it y countries can mostly go into effect, reversing two earlier decisions made by a handful of lower federal court judges And city leaders are not happy. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s call this what it is â&#x20AC;&#x201D; this is a Muslim ban,â&#x20AC;? Mayor de Blasio said after the decision was announced, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and it inherently violates the values of this country.â&#x20AC;?

The executive order, Thousands of people flocked to Kennedy Airport in late January to s i g n e d i n M a r c h , protest President Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original executive order banning travel banned travel from Iran, from seven Muslim-majority nations.

FILE PHOTO Sud a n, Sy r ia , Libya , Yemen and Somalia for 90 days and sus- Trump administration could use it to justify pended the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ref ugee prog ram denying almost anyone looking for entry into entirely for 120 days. the United States.

It was immediately challenged by civil libâ&#x20AC;&#x153;Our hearts ache for the local immigrant erties groups who said the order was xeno- communities who have been increasingly phobic and tantamount to a ban on Muslims, marginalized and villainized since Trump with both the Fourth and Ninth Circuit took office,â&#x20AC;? Holder said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The banâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lanCourts of Appeals ruling that the ban violat- guage on what constitutes a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;bona fide relaed the Constitution. tionship with any person or entity in the The Supreme Cour t â&#x20AC;&#x201D; which also United Statesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; is troublingly vague and we announced it will take up the legal challenge are concerned that the resulting confusion to the ban in October â&#x20AC;&#x201D; unanimously grant- and uncertainty will be exploited by the feded Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s request for a stay on the lower eral government to deny vulnerable individucou r tâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s r ulings, but lim ited the ban als entry into this country.â&#x20AC;? somewhat.

Three of the courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more conservative â&#x20AC;&#x153;As president, I cannot allow people into justices â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito our country who want to do us harm,â&#x20AC;? Trump and recently confirmed Neil Gorsuch â&#x20AC;&#x201D; dissaid after the decision. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I want people who sented in part, saying the ban should be can love the United States and all of its citi- allowed to go into effect in its entirety. zens, and who will be hardworking and Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s original, harsher executive order productive.â&#x20AC;? banning travel from the aforementioned six According to the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s highest court, nations plus Iraq sparked massive protests at people from those six nations with a â&#x20AC;&#x153;credi- airports nationwide, including Kennedy, as ble claim of a bona fide relationship with a news broke of immigrants arriving on interperson or entity in the United Statesâ&#x20AC;? will be national flights being detained upon landing. allowed to travel here.

That ban was struck down, leading to Qualifying for entry, the court says, will Trump withdrawing it and signing the second be those with close familial relationships one, which he called â&#x20AC;&#x153;watered down.â&#x20AC;? with someone in the United States, students Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, Bronx) disadmitted to American colleges and universi- agrees, saying in a statement the Supreme ties, workers who have accepted a job offer Courtâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision on the â&#x20AC;&#x153;short sightedâ&#x20AC;? ban from a U.S. company and lecturers invited to was â&#x20AC;&#x153;highly concerning.â&#x20AC;? speak to an American audience. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our country was built on the idea that It is unclear if anything else qualifies as a anyone seeking to better their life and conâ&#x20AC;&#x153;bona fide relationship,â&#x20AC;? such as a foreign tribute to our communities should be welnational with vacation plans. come in America,â&#x20AC;? Crowley said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;President Legal Aid Society Attorney-in-Charge Trumpâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s decision to block individuals from Adriene Holder slammed the phrase in ques- Muslim countries is in stark contrast to these Q tion in a Monday statement, saying the founding values.â&#x20AC;?

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 24

C M SQ page 24 Y K

Residents say no to new Pan Am contract Civic challenges shelter extension

by Matthew Bultman Chronicle Contributor

Elmhurst residents are calling on the city comptroller to reject a six-year contract renewal to continue operating the former Pan American hotel as a homeless shelter.

The Chronicle reported in April that the city was negotiating a $26.4 million deal with shelter operator Samaritan Village to extend their contract through June 2023.

The original 30-month, $23.8 million deal is set to expire tomorrow, June 30.

About 100 protesters gathered with a handful of elected officials outside the Boulevard Family Residence last Saturday to urge the contact be rejected by city Comptroller Scott Stringer.

Many said the shelter has not been properly maintained, as Samaritan Village has failed to live up to various contractual and legal obligations, including installing kitchen units in each dwelling.

“It is disgraceful that the city would continue to contract with a provider who has clearly failed to meet their obligations on vital services and basic necessities that families need,” said neighborhood resident Anna Orjuela, a member of the civic group Elmhurst United. “A clear message needs to be sent that failing to meet those obligations means no contract renewal or additional payment of monies.”

The protest was the latest in a long line of rallies — including one that drew over 1,000 people — outside the former hotel since it was quietly converted into a family homeless shelter with no community notice in June 2014.

The original contract was registered with Stringer’s office in February 2016 after three earlier attempts failed because of rodent and insect infestations and unrectified Department of Buildings violations.

The registration occurred once Samaritan Village pledged to build kitchen units in each residential room in the former hotel.

But according to Elmhurst United, that has yet to happen.

Samaritan Village, at a recent community advisory board meeting, indicated the total cost for the kitchens would be over $3 million, up from the original estimate of $2.2 million.

In a statement issued in May, Department of Homeless Services spokesman Isaac McGinn said kitchen installation will occur in 24-room phases beginning in July.

About 100 of the building’s 198 rooms are set to receive such facilities by the end of the year, with the others receiving units by 2019.

“In addition to providing social services including case management, housing placement assistance and employment counseling,” McGinn said, “Samaritan Village is

Assemblywoman and mayoral candidate Nicole Malliotakis, speaking, rallies alongside Elmhurst residents at last weekend’s protest against a proposed contract extension for the Boulevard PHOTO BY MATTHEW BULTMAN Family Residence on Queens Boulevard. currently installing kitchens in every room and connecting families with licensed childcare opportunities in the community pending the opening of childcare at this location to ensure our clients have the on-site services they deserve as they stabilize their lives.”

The DHS has already approved Samaritan Village’s request to extend its contract for an additional six years, officials said. The shelter operator also requested an additional $11 million for personnel and utility services, including biweekly health inspections and new furniture.

But that isn’t good enough for state Sen.

Toby Stavisky (D-Flushing), who at the rally said people have a right to be concerned, considering the shelter’s track record.

“It is unfortunate that it has been almost three years since this shelter opened and I continue to be extremely concerned about the conditions at the building,” Stavisky said.

Assemblywoman Nicole Malliotakis (R-Staten Island, Brooklyn), a candidate for mayor, suggested converting the former Pan Am into affordable housing.

“That would be a common sense solution,” Malliotakis said, “and the money would be Q better spent towards that.”

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C M SQ page 25 Y K Page 25 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

Plaza College brings back court reporting FoHi school saves New York Career Institute’s stenography course

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Wishing everyone a happy and safe 4th of July as we proudly celebrate and cherish our independence.

CONGRESSMAN

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When one thinks of a c o u r t r o o m ’s m o s t important individuals, the judge, jury, lawyers and the accused rightf u lly come to m i nd before anyone else.

Often overlooked is the silent, but incredibly important stenographer, the record keeper of the courtroom.

Queens was looking at a possible shortage of such people, until Plaza College in Forest Hills The New York Career Institute folded last year, casting doubt on the intervened.

The New York Career future of its court reporting program. But Plaza College enveloped the Institute closed in 2016, course into its own curriculum, possibly preventing a stenographer PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON leaving the dozens of shortage at the Queens Criminal Couthouse. st udents in its cour t reporter program unsure if they will be able lege, located just two blocks from Queens to continue their training.

Supreme Court, accelerated the construction But the state Department of Education of five computer labs where various units of recently approved Plaza College’s takeover the stenography classes will be taught. of NYCI, allowing the future stenographers The Forest Hills school is now the only to continue taking their courses at the Forest college in the cit y that offers cou r t Hills institute of higher learning. reporting.

The former NYCI students were able to Demand for stenographers — who must keep all credits accumulated at the old be able to type 225 words per minute with school and the cost of their classes will 95 percent accuracy to be deemed comperemain the same. tent — began falling about 20 years ago, Any student who previously withdrew when some cou r ts sw itched to t ape from the program can also rejoin at the orig- recorders. inal price charged by NYCI until 2022.

But Eric Allen, the president of the Asso“This is also about protecting access to a ciation of Supreme Court Reporters, told the profession – court reporting is a great field Daily News this month that those machines with many opportunities for motivated stu- sometimes fail for various reasons, and dents,” said Dennis Byrns, the former NYCI courts now see stenographers as more relipresident who took a high-level position able than technology. with Plaza College after the merger. “It “There have been many, many instances would be a shame if NYC residents could in the past,” Allen said, “when recordings not access this career.” have failed, the machinery didn’t work, or it In preparation for the takeover Plaza Col- just wasn’t turned on due to human error.” Q

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 26

C M SQ page 26 Y K

Middle Village walks for a cancer cure Relay for Life in Juniper Valley Park raises over $220K for research

These colorful flamingos figured to have a little bit of fun while raising money for a good cause last weekend.

These marchers make their way around the Juniper Valley Park running track during last Saturday’s annuPHOTOS BY STEVE FISHER al Middle Village Relay for Life event to raise money for cancer research.

J

ust about everyone walking the planet today has been touched by cancer in some way. If you’ve never had it, odds are that you know someone who has. And if you could help find a cure for the disease, would you?

Hundreds of Queens residents answered yes last Saturday, descending on Middle Village’s Juniper Valley Park to take part in the annual Relay for Life event to raise money for cancer research.

And raise money they did. When all the walking around the track was complete, just over $220,000 had been donated to help find a cure for the dreaded illness.

Of course, those walking all through the night wanted to have a little fun, too. Many dressed up in intricate costumes. Some brought musical instruments to play. Police Officer Charlie Sadler even ran Q a full marathon around the track!

For the latest news visit qchron.com

Love and hope are two of the most important medications for those fighting the scourge of cancer. Laughter is right up there, too, and these Relay for Life attendees provided plenty of that with their intricate costumes.

Cancer survivor Brian Lehman makes his way around the track with his aunt, Michelle DiBartolomeo.

We’ve all watched as a mother, sister, brother, aunt, uncle or friend battled cancer. Dozens of those who lost that battle were honored with these luminarias during Relay for Life in Middle Village.

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Page 27 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 28

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Restaurant crawl highlights dining delights

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PHOTOS BY WALTER KARLING

The Greater Jamaica Development Corp. hosted its third annual Restaurant Crawl on June 22, with revelers partaking of the cuisine at Puerta Plata, Sangria and Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Lavrador.

At top left, Eleanor Thompson canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t wait to dig in, while at top right Paula Libreos, left, Donald Jones, Shin Otake, Marian Cioletto and Janelle John receive their entrees.

Second row left, GJDC staffers Danielle Greene and Tina McRae await beverages, while next to them 5-month-old Amal Rae does a celebratory dance with her mom, Denise. To their

right, two more lucky diners are about to receive a sumptuous feast.

Above, jazz trio The Hit Squad entertained the crowd while to their right beverage brigadier Sharon Rhem brings up some brews. Next her, a participant offers up the universally understood food review.

To the right, Vignike Anderson of the GJDC, center, greets revelers Brian Geraghty and Ashley Copperstone. At far right, Mohamed Safie and Community Board 12 District Manager Yvonne Reddick dish up some fine fare.

C M SQ page 29 Y K Page 29 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

FUN AND FITNESS FOR 55+ SENIORS IN FOREST PARK, GLENDALE, NY Free of Charge • Sponsored by Middle Village Adult Center JULY 2017 SCHEDULE

TUESDAYS 11:00 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

ZUMBA and PILATES with MARIA (Meet at Seuffert Bandshell/Forest Park Drive) One hour of Zumba with Latin and international music. Fun exercise to get yourself going! Pilates and muscle toning too!

WEDNESDAYS 10:00–11:00 a.m.

WALKING with DEBBI (Meet at Seuffert Bandshell/Forest Park Drive) Enjoy an invigorating walk and be inspired by the nature in Forest Park with Debbi.

WEDNESDAYS 11:15 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

CHAIR YOGA with DEBBI Relax, rejuvenate, and recharge your body and spirit with this uplifting and calming exercise.

FRIDAYS 10:00–11:00 a.m.

TOTAL BODY WORKOUT and ZUMBA with MARIA (Meet at Seuffert Bandshell/Forest Park Drive) Get your body in shape by exercising muscles and limbs. Feel great!

Free One-way Transportation for Woodhaven Co-ops and Crescents Call Middle Village Adult Center in Advance for pickup and for more information at 718-894-3441 Classes will not be held in inclement weather.

This program is funded by NYC Council Member Elizabeth S. Crowley through the Parks Equity Council Initiative.

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(Meet at Seuffert Bandshell/Forest Park Drive)

City, NYPD select site of 116th Pct. — almost

Photo contest!

It’s time for the Queens Chronicle’s ninth annual Summer in the Borough Photo Contest — and you’re invited to join in!

Take your best shots of children playing, workers working, lovely landscapes, birds on the bay — whatever you think best says “summertime in Queens.”

Check out these photos taken by two prior winners, Jennifer Morrison and Nancy Morelli, and see if you can do as well.

Our main requirement is that the photos be taken in the borough this summer. We also ask that you give us all the details you can, especially the location, the names of any people in the photo, whenever possible, and when it was taken (but don’t use time stamps!). Some entrants give us a whole backstory, and that’s never a problem.

And please tell us where you live and whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer.

The winner or winners will receive tickets to a family-friendly performance in or around the city, such as an off-Broadway show or the circus.

Send your high-resolution digital photos to peterm @ qchron.com, or mail prints to Queens Chronicle Photo Contest, 71-19 80 St., suite 8-201, Glendale, NY 11385 (our new address). The deadline is Tuesday, Sept. 5. Good luck!

PHOTOS BY JENNIFER MORRISON, TOP, AND NANCY MORELLI

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QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 30

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People of Southeast Queens who have lobbied endlessly for the NYPD to add a new 116th Precinct are going to have to wait just a bit longer for confirmation of a determined location.

Sources with knowledge of the plan said the city was expected to name the existing satellite station in Rosedale as the site for the new building at a meeting that had been scheduled for tonight, June 29, at St. Clare’s Catholic Academy in Rosedale.

The city notified the Chronicle that the meeting was post poned on Wednesday afternoon. It has not yet The NYPD is expected to announce soon that the been rescheduled. planned 116th Precinct will be located in Rosedale on The new precinct is expected to con- the site of the 10-year-old satellite station for the tain a large chunk of the southern half 105th Precinct. Residents have been seeking a station of the 105th. The existing precinct is for Southeast Queens since the days of Mayor Ed Koch. the largest in area in Queens and one of PHOTO BY MICHAEL GANNON the largest in the city. With headquarters on 222nd Street in Queens Village, it used in the fiscal year 2017 city budget.

Government and police officials believe to be an 8.5 mile trip for officers needing to get that the project could result in the redrawing of to the southernmost parts of the beat.

The satellite station, just north of the Long some of the existing borders shared by the Island Rail Road’s Rosedale depot, opened in 105th, 103rd and 113th precincts.

Parking of officers’ cars and NYPD vehicles 2007 in an effort to quicken response time in the southern end of the command. It went to — often an issue around Queens station houses — should be easily accommodated as the site shifts around the clock in March 2016.

Q The new precinct was approved last spring has plenty of spaces and is near other lots.

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June 29, 2017

Page 31 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

ARTS, AR ARTS S CULTURE C ULTUR & LIVING CU IVING

by Victoria Zunitch

Continued on page

Flushing photographer has her eye on nature in new exhibit

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Photographic artist Greta M. Jaklitsch can explain her theory, method and school of art in seven straightforward words.

“I like to capture what I see.”

What Jaklitsch sees and captures on 35 mm film is hidden slices of natural beauty.

“Japanese Anemone” is dominated by the uncompromisingly straight lines of a wooden chair.

Interrupting all that order and structure is a cheeky, happy flower sneaking between the slats and presenting its curvy little face as the main event.

“Her eyes are different than ours,” says George Mullane, one of Jaklitsch’s friends and patrons.

Eleven of Jaklitsch’s photographs are on display now through Aug. 29 in her one-woman show, “Summer Through Greta’s Lens,” in a single room at the Voelker Orth Museum, Bird Sanctuary and Victorian Garden in Flushing.

The exhibit is Jaklitsch’s sixth at the museum. She seems to enjoy being her own agent as much as she enjoys the photography. She had arranged her first Voelker Orth show around the year 2004 by approaching the museum and asking for it, just as she had held her first-ever exhibit around 2002 by getting a permit to show 20 photos in a tent in Kissena Park.

“I’m business, above everything else,” said Jaklitsch, who works a day job as a director of purchasing.

The artist made her first big sale after hearing a lecturer tell artists, “If you see an empty wall and don’t ask to exhibit your pictures, shame on you!”

The next morning, an empty wall at the International House of Pancakes in Flushing beckoned. She offered to show some of her Flushing-centric photographs, and the manager eventually bought six for $200 each to display in the restaurant.

Jaklitsch moved to the United States with her parents in 1959 from a small village in Austria.

Both parents’ extended families were already living stateside.

“They all lost everything in World War II,” Jaklitsch said.

She thinks she probably “bullied” her mother into giving her a camera and has been snapping pictures ever since. Her son’s life from birth to marriage is well-documented, but other than that, she specializes in nature. The exhibit includes not only local pictures, a few taken at Voelker Orth itself, but also scenes from farther afield, such as Lake Champlain and Austria. continued on page 35

QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017 Page 32

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EXHIBITS

COMEDY

“Angry Birds Universe,” with attendees using slingshots to propel balls with the images of characters from the video game series, learning about its creation and about real birds, and more. Sat., July 1-Sun., Aug. 27, New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111 St., Corona. Free with admission: $16; $13 seniors, kids, students with ID. Info: (718) 699-0005, nysci.org.

Frank Coniff’s Cartoon Dump, with TV’s Frank of “Mystery Science Theater 3000” hosting a variety/ stand-up show in the guise of a fake kid’s show as Moodsy, the Clinically Depressed Owl. Mon., July 3, 7:30-9 p.m., QED, 27-16 23 Road, Astoria. $6. Info: (347) 451-3873, qedastoria.com.

FILM

“Innovative Concepts to Origami,” with abstract and creative works of Hiromitsu Kuroo in the traditional Japanese art, some quite large. Thru Mon., July 31, Resobox, 41-26 27 St., Long Island City. Free.

Info: (718) 784-3680, resobox.com.

boro

“bwoy,” the 2016 drama about a suburban man who becomes entangled in a chaotic online affair with a young Jamaican man. Fri., June 30, 7:30 p.m.; Sun., July 2, 2 and 4:30 p.m., Museum of the Moving Image, 36-01 35 Ave., Astoria. $15; $11 seniors, students; $7 kids 3-17. Info: (718) 7776888, movingimage.us.

“The Lavender Line: Coming Out in Queens,” a multimedia exhibit on the LGBTQ rights movement in Queens, largely drawn from the collection of City Councilman Danny Dromm. Thru Sun., July 30, Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Suggested $8; $4 seniors; free students, children.

Info: (718) 592-9700, queensmuseum.org.

“Elements of Nature: Paintings by Denise P. Levine,” works meant to reflect nature and “provide a calming, restorative and healing message.” Thru end of June, Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge Center, 175-10 Cross Bay Blvd., Broad Channel. Free. Info: (718) 318-4340, nps.gov/gate/planyourvisit.

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Madeline Lovallo Painting Her Local World, with scenes of Queens, the city and beyond, by the Howard Beach artist, with many available for sale. Thru end of June. The Center at Maple Grove, 127-15 Kew Gardens Road, Kew Gardens. Free. Info: (347) 8786614, madelinesstudio.pixels.com.

“Almost Home,” with works in various media — including, left, Karina Aguilera Skvirsky’s “The Railroad Workers (Los Obreros Del Ferrocarril)Ibarra” — on moving from one place to another and the senses of displacement, nostalgia and more that relocation evokes. Thru Sun., July 16, Dorsky Gallery Curatorial Programs, 11-03 45 Ave., Long Island City. Free. Info: (718) 937-6317, dorsky.org.

PHOTO BY NEIL CHIRAGDIN “Marinella Senatore: Piazza Universale/Social Stages,” multimedia works by the Italian artist that refer to public spaces where different communities meet and an ideal space where the future can be envisioned collaboratively. Thru Sun., July 30, Queens Museum, Flushing Meadows Corona Park.

Suggested $8; $4 seniors; free students, children.

Info: (718) 592-9700, queensmuseum.org.

“Charlotte Prodger: Subtotal,” with sound, video, works on paper and more linking disparate topics and sites; “Teresa Burga: Mano Mal Dibujada,” with drawings and sculptures by the Peruvian femi-

Following the counsel of Founding Father John Adams that Independence Day be celebrated with “… illuminations from one end of this continent to the other,” the nation’s largest pyrotechnic display will light up the night above the East River starting at about 9:25 p.m. on the Fourth of July. See Special Events.

PHOTO BY LISA GNEO / ROCKSTAR HOTELS nist artist; and “Sam Anderson: The Park,” with sculptures and videos that capture particular characters in mid-gesture, all as part of a larger network.

Thru Mon., July 31, SculptureCenter, 44-19 Purves St., Long Island City. $5 suggested; $3 students. Info: (718) 361-1750, sculpture-center.org.

“Taking it to the Streets,” photos of 1950s New York, by Flushing photographer Frank Oscar Larson.

Thru Sun., Aug. 6, Flushing Town Hall, 137-35 Northern Blvd. Suggested $5; free students. Info: (718) 463-7700, flushingtownhall.org.

MUSIC James Williams and the Swamp Donkeys, with the New Orleans band playing traditional jazz while showcasing fresh and exciting ideas, to kick off three-part summer concert series. Tue., July 4, 2-4 p.m., Louis Armstrong House Museum, 34-56 107 St., Corona. $20 (includes soul food lunch); $50 for whole series. Info: (718) 478-8274, louisarmstronghouse.org.

Monthly Jazz Jam: Carol Sudhalter, with the acclaimed jazz flute and sax player from Queens leading a house band and then jamming with attendees who bring instruments or vocals to the show.

Wed., July 5, 7-10 p.m., Flushing Town Hall, 13735 Northern Blvd. $10; free students and jamming musicians. Jams each first Wed. of the month.

Info: (718) 463-7700, flushingtownhall.org.

COURTESY PHOTO

“Timbuktu,” the 2014 Mauritanian-French drama about a young, loving family of Tuareg shepherds and their conflict with the sharia law of radical jihadists; with prescreening African cultural performance. Wed., July 5, 7 p.m., Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City. Free.

Info: (718) 956-1819, socratessculpturepark.org.

Sharon Cuneta, the popular Filipina singer, actress and TV personality, along with comedian Ai-Ai delas Alas, Antonetthe Tismo of “The Voice Kids Philippines,” musical director Louie Ocampo and Christine Allado of “Hamilton” in London. Sat., July 8, 8 p.m., Colden Auditorium, Queens College, 153-49 Reeves Ave., Flushing. $79-$149 ($50 more for VIP meet and greet, photo). Info: (718) 793-0923, kupferbergcenter.org.

THEATRE Senior Ensemble Theatre, with seasoned citizens from several senior centers performing in a cabaret-style show. Thu., June 29, 6:30 p.m., Queens Theatre, 14 United Nations Ave. S., Flushing Meadows Corona Park. Free. Info: (718) 7600686, queenstheatre.org.

DANCE Just Sole! Street Dance Theater Co. / Pretty BIG Movement, with the Philadelphia-based hip-hop troupe and the full-figured female group performing, and the former giving lessons in freestyle and house dance moves for all ages and skill levels. Wed., July 5, 7-9 p.m. (workshop at 7; show at 8), Springfield Park, 184 St. and 146 Terrace, Springfield Gardens. Free.

Info: (212) 360-1399, cityparksfoundation.org/events.

In Situ Site Specific Dance Festival, with 24 NYCbased companies performing everything from solos to presentations involving 35 dancers, at various sites in four parks, to strengthen, bridge and celebrate the diverse communities of Long Island City.

Sat.-Sun., July 8-9, 12-7 p.m. (different performers at different times), Hunters Point South Park, Gantry Plaza State Park, Queensbridge Park and Socrates Sculpture Park. Free. Info: insitudancefestival.com.

“Yankee Doodle Dandy,” the patriotic 1942 biographical musical starring James Cagney as entertainer, playwright and composer George M. Cohan, “the man who owned Broadway.” Sat., July 1, 1 p.m., Greater Astoria Historical Society, 35-20 Broadway, Long Island City. Free. Info: (718) 2780700, astorialic.org.

WARNER BROS.

SPECIA AL EVENTS Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks, the “unrivaled barrage of color, shape, light and sound to celebrate Independence Day,” launched from five barges on the East River from Long Island City to Greenpoint, Brooklyn. Tue., July 4, c. 9:25 p.m.

(TV coverage starting 8 p.m.). Info: (212) 4944495, macys.com.

St. Josaphat’s trip to Tropicana casino, Atlantic City, for gambling, shopping, walking the boardwalk. $32; get back $25. Wed., July 12, leaving 8:30 a.m.

Info: Joy, (917) 921-7631.

LECTURES/TALKS Elder law, by attorney Ronald Fatoullah. Wed., July 5, 10 a.m., Laurelton Library, 134-26 225 St. Free.

Info: Dave Wang, (718) 528-2822. continued on page 36

Send theater, music, art or event items to What’s Happening via artslistingqchron@gmail.com

C M SQ page 33 Y K

by Neil Chiragdin qboro contributor

Flecks of gold foil sprinkle down from above, like summer rain. Oceans of blue divide a pattern rich in red, yellow, green, black and white.

Sprawling at fifty-two feet long, Carl Hazlewood’s “Traveler” is a curiosity: A work that would demand your attention in any great room, the mural sits in a narrow hallway at the Knockdown Center in Maspeth. There it works differently, drawing the viewer in and out, causing passersby to pause, stay awhile and reflect. The entirety of the mural is impossible to take in from any single vantage point, and so the artist’s title is in part a reflection of this reality — to appreciate the work requires the viewer to move up and down the corridor; to become

‘Traveler’ When: Through Sun., July 16 Where: Knockdown Center, 52-19 Flushing Ave., Maspeth Entry: Free. knockdown.center

the traveler. In Hazlewood’s words, the piece “will have to be ... discovered as one moves (or travels) parallel to the mural.”

But the mural has a deeper meaning for the artist, who considers his own position in the world as a “boundary-crosser of sorts ... not only that of an immigrant but also as black, poor, older” in a brief text accompanying the piece. Hazlewood is an artist of Guyanese descent, which is somewhat unique in the art world, even in New York, home to a number of Guyanese communities. The population of Guyana, a former British colony, is a prime example of the Colonial era: descended from slaves and indentured servants from Africa and India and taught English on a continent where the primary language is Spanish. Although loath to describe himself or his work as sociopolitical in nature, the project led Hazlewood to draw upon this history.

“It occurred to me that movement for a lot of us — people like me — from one place to another, from one social/political situation to another, is an inescapable part of our existence; from the enforced travel of the Middle Passage, and now in North America where one dreamed of escaping

Page 33 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

A Guyanese artist’s mural moves mind and body

Carl Hazlewood’s 52-foot mural, “Traveler,” is in a narrow hallway and too long to be seen completely from a single vantage point, leaving the viewer with different impresPHOTO BY NEIL CHIRAGDIN sions depending upon where one is standing. the vicissitudes of Colonialism and poverty,” said Hazlewood. He noted that the national conversation had centered on who should be allowed in or expelled out of the country at the time he was conceiving the mural, and may have contributed to his concept. Hazle-

wood also explained that the work reflects himself, adding, “I believe everything one does becomes a self-portrait, in a way.”

Since “Traveler” is an abstract work, it may be difficult for a visitor who doesn’t continued on page 37

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Richard “Made Rich” Parker, like many children, dreamed of playing in the NFL one day, catching touchdown passes and winning Super Bowl rings.

Fast forward a few decades and millions of people turn on their televisions each week to watch him perform, just not in the profession he had originally planned.

Four years after he first appeared as a contestant on the popular reality show, Parker is again competing on Spike TV’s “Ink Master,” which sees tattoo artists compete for a $200,000 grand prize.

The owner of the Think Before You Ink tattoo shop at 167-16 Hillside Ave. in Jamaica, Parker was one of 16 artists to showcase his skills in Season 3 of the show, which aired in 2013, making it through five episodes before being eliminated in the sixth.

This time around in Season 9, Parker came back to the show as its “returning veteran” during June 20’s episode.

Whether he will earn the title of ink master this season remains to be seen, but the two-time TV contestant told the Chronicle that he’s still surprised tattooing ended up being his profession.

“My peers would’ve sworn I was going to the NFL. Shoot, for a hot second I thought I was going to the NFL too,” Parker said. “Tattooing just stumbled upon me through friends. I was drawing my whole life, but because I was an athlete, no one really knew.”

An avid drawer, he first realized he had a gift a decade ago while attending prep school, when a friend paid him $40 to design a tattoo.

That person then paid an artist $350 to ink the design on his body.

“I wanted in on the action,” Parker said. “I linked up with the guy that did the local tattoo parties. He gave me a tutorial, and my dorm room became my first tattoo shop.”

Once his dreams of gridiron glory fell by the wayside, he established his Jamaica tattoo shop, which quickly gained in popularity.

Come 2013, he attended an open casting call for “Ink Master” in the city, impressing the producers enough to invite him back for a second interview and, eventually, a spot on the show.

Even though he was eliminated in the sixth episode, Parker said being on

Queens tattoo artist Richard “Made Rich” Parker during last week’s episode of “Ink PHOTO COURTESY SPIKE TV Master.” the show has done wonders for his growing shop, which now features six other artists.

“Before our first episode aired, we had some girls walk in and tell us they saw we were going to be on ‘Ink Master,’ so they figured we had to be a credible shop,” he said. “The platform that this show is building for tattoo artists is like no other.”

But while the title of ink master and the $200,000 are certainly prizes worth competing for, Parker said his main goal on the show is to set a good example for his son.

“I’m here in this competition to build up my ‘super dad’ resume, give him something to look up to and be his first hero,” he said. “Even if I may be coined a villain on the show, whatever, he’ll love me for it, and that’s all that matters.”

“Ink Master” airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. Q

‘Ink Master’ When: Tuesdays at 9 p.m.

Where: Spike TV; spike.com.

C M SQ page 35 Y K

An eye for detail and perfect timing for summer continued from page 31 Mullane ha s frequently arranged and re-arranged the home he shares with his partner, Kembell Huyke, to accommodate their growing collection of Jaklitsch photographs.

“She has an incredible eye.

She finds beauty in the most unusual places,” Huyke said.

Huyke and Mullane stopped in to the Voelker Orth show last Saturday to celebrate with their friend. The three came to know each other over the years

at an area diner.

One of Huyke’s favorite Jaklitsch photos is a piece he initially passed on until Mullane could make room for it. It reveals snowflakes filling in the diamonds on a chain-link fence to the point that it nearly resembles a wall.

Jaklitsch is a master of the transitional moment. In “After the Rain,” a photo taken in the Voelker Orth garden, we see a leaf that has fully become itself, exhibiting full maturity but with no sign of decay.

“Water Lily” shows us t hat f ina l s t a ge when a flower is just about to finish opening. For a previous When: Through Tue., Aug. 29 show called “Spring in Where: Voelker Orth Museum, Focus,” she has a spe149-19 38 Ave., Flushing cial memory of catchEntry: $2 suggested. ing the final stage in (718) 359-6227, the life of a bud. vomuseum.org “It was a magnolia on the verge of opening

‘Summer Through Greta’s Lens’

and it just — I was just taken aback. I had to have it. And this was with a regular camera, a point-and-shoot. And yet I managed to get a swell shot,” Jaklitsch said.

While t here’s s t ill much debate among photographers about whether the quality of digital photography meets or exceeds that of film, there’s no denying that film usually produces a different feel. For Jaklitsch, film is the only choice.

Page 35 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

boro

Greta M. Jaklitsch talks about her photographs with friends — and patrons — Kembell Huyke, left and George Mullane. Among them is “Japanese Anemone,” left, which has been sold. On the cover: The PHOTOS BY VICTORIA ZUNITCH artist and her “Water Lily.”

She has never considered using digital cameras, and shepherds her artwork through the matting and framing process.

Those who want more Jaklitsch

after the Voelker Orth show ends should know that she is one of the 31 artists represented by the Pleiades Gallery on West 25th Q Street in Manhattan.

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KIDS/TEENS Hands-on History: American Lanterns, with kids and their families exploring how 19thcentury Americans like Jamaica’s King family celebrated July 4 and making festive red, white and blue lanterns. Sat., July 1, 1-4 p.m., King Manor Museum, 150-03 Jamaica Ave., Jamaica.

Free. Info: (718) 206-0545, kingmanor.org.

Cla 3 FP

Little Naturalist Storytime: A House for a Hermit Crab, with kids 5-6 learning about sea creatures, making a craft, meeting animals and taking a nature walk. Toddler Tales: Duckie’s Rainbow, with kids 3-4 and one parent exploring a rainbow of colors in nature, making a craft, meeting animals and taking a nature walk. Both 10:30 a.m.-12 p.m., Sat., July 8, Alley Pond Environmental Center, 22806 Northern Blvd., Douglaston. $21 each.

Info/pre-registration (req’d): (718) 229-4000, alleypond.com.

CLASSES/WORKSHOPS

Meditation sessions, for spirituality and relaxation. Thu., July 6, 13, Fresh Meadows Library, 193-20 Horace Harding Expy.; Thu., July 20, 27, Hollis Library, 202-05 Hillside Ave.; Mon., July 10, 17, Auburndale Library, 25-55 Francis Lewis Blvd., Flushing; Mon., July 24, 31, St. Albans Library, 191-05 Linden Blvd.; all 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Free. Info: (917) 517-0669.

TOURS/HIKES

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Bus trip to Green-Wood Cemetery, with private, two-hour Civil War trolley tour, sponsored by the Friends of Maple Grove. Sat., July 8, meeting 9:15 a.m., returning c. 4:30 p.m., near cemetery gate at Lefferts Blvd. and Kew Gardens Road. Bring lunch; water, snacks provided; play Civil War trivia on the bus. $30. Info: (347) 8786614, friendsofmaplegrove.org..

SOCIAL EVENTS

Israeli folk dancing, with instruction for beginners, in a fun, welcoming atmosphere. Each Mon., 7:30 p.m. (beginners’ instruction); 8:3010 p.m. (intermediate dances), Hillcrest Jewish Center, 183-02 Union Tpke, Fresh Meadows. $10. Info: (718) 380-4145, hillcrestjc.org.

MARKETS St. Raphael Church flea market, with vendor spots still available. Sun., July 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (setup 8 a.m.), 35-20 Greenpoint Ave., Long Island City. Vendors: $35 for 10-footspot; $45 if borrowing 8-foot table. Info: (718) 729-8957.

Richmond Hill, 117-09 Hillside Ave., every Sun., 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Largest flea market in Queens. Info: (347) 709-7661, richmondhillfleamarket.com.

CLUBS “Hooks & Needles” Crochet & Knit Club, with participants bringing projects, hooks, needles and yarn, or working on charity projects. Every Thu., 6:30-9 p.m., Big 6 Shopping Center, 60-10 Queens Blvd., Woodside (entrance inside shopping center, up one flight, down hall to left of 99-cent store). Info: Lorraine, (917) 817-4037.

SENIOR ACTIVITIES Services Now for Adult Persons, Inc., a social service agency providing for the needs of senior citizens in Queens, is seeking volunteers for its programs geared toward helping seniors living independently in their homes.

Further information may be obtained by calling SNAP of Eastern Queens Innovative Senior Center at (718) 454-2100, or SNAP Brookville Neighborhood Senor Center at (718) 525-8899.

Howard Beach Senior Center, with exercise classes every weekday except Thu., varying times; dances with a DJ and hot lunch every Tue., 12-3 p.m.; art classes every Thu., 9:30-11:30 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m.; intro to sign language every Fri., 10-11:30 a.m.; karaoke every Wed., 1-3 p.m.; monthly book club; and more, 155-55 Crossbay Blvd. Info: (718) 738-8100.

Woodhaven/Richmond Hill Senior Center, open Mon.-Fri., 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.; with lunch at 12 p.m.; strength/stretching exercise class each Mon., 1 p.m.; yoga each Thu., 10 a.m.; Zumba each Fri., 10 a.m.; arts and crafts, knitting, coloring for adults and educational presentations other times. Info: (718) 847-9200.

Queens AARP chorus, seeking retired people to sing at nursing homes and for AARP chapters. Meet each Fri., 1 p.m. Clearview SelfHelp Center, 208-11 26 Ave., Bayside. Info: joroosume@verizon.net.

SUPPORT GROUPS Caring for a loved one with dementia? Sunnyside Community Services, 43-31 39 St., Sunnyside. English speaking caregivers suppport group, every Tue., Spanish speaking caregivers suppport group, 2nd & 4th Wed. of every month. Contact: Shyvonne Noboa (718) 784-6173, ext. 440.

Anxious, nervous, depressed? Recovery International can help. Meetings every Thu., 2:30 p.m., Fri., 3:30 p.m. Forest Hills Library, 108-19 71 Ave. Info: recoveryinternational.org.

Bereavement groups for assistance dealing with loss and the process towards healing, with others experiencing similar situations. Central Queens YM & YWHA, 67-09 108 St., Forest Hills.

Registration req’d. Info: (718) 268-5011, ext. 160, olderadults@cgy.org.

PTSD for veterans and service members: Reach out to a anonymous support group in your area. Info: 1 (800) 273-TALK.

C M SQ page j 37 Y K

King Crossword Puzzle ACROSS 1 One of the Three Bears 5 Unhappy 8 Stare 12 Exhibit “A,” e.g.

14 Figure-skating leap 15 Give a home a makeover 16 Actress Sorvino 17 18-wheeler 18 Toxin 20 Support for a painting 23 Plant with fronds 24 Small salamanders 25 Went back on a promise 28 Put (down) 29 Partners 30 Churchill’s gesture 32 Changed the title 34 Tempo 35 Matterhorn’s range 36 Bamboo-eating critter 37 Nervous system disorder 40 Relatives 41 Frau’s mister 42 Hertz deal 47 Too 48 Geometric figure 49 Farm implement 50 Collection 51 Isn’t well

DOWN 1 Apiece 2 “Hail, Caesar!”

3 Bowling target 4 Worships 5 Unseen problem 6 Performance 7 Intensified 8 Casino doings 9 Center of rotation 10 Nil 11 Verve 13 Satan’s specialty

19 Raw minerals 20 Moray, for one 21 In the distance 22 Eyelid woe 23 Big parties 25 “O’er the -we watched ...”

26 Divisible by two 27 Out of play 29 Masculine 31 Greek vowel 33 Not wide 34 One of the bunch?

36 Pocket bread 37 Fellow 38 War, to Gen. Sherman 39 Approximately 40 Make a sweater 43 Before 44 Hollywood trickery, for short 45 The whole enchilada 46 In medias -Answers at right

GRAND OPENING

continued from page 33 personally know the artist to connect the work to his narrative. Hazlewood seems to prefer this, as he believes the visual form especially allows poetic liberty — suggestion, rather than declaration. He believes it is up to viewers to explore the mural and form their own meanings.

Yet this work stands out for Hazlewood, who concedes that the concept shaped the form of his work more so than usual during his process. It’s no mistake that the colors of the Guyanese flag have made their way into the mural. But, with the exception of white and gold, the red, green and black are also, according to Hazlewood, a reference to Marcus Garvey’s Pan-African Black Liberation flag — a statement of pride. On the great wave of blue in the mural, Hazlewood noted that it is another great sweep of movement, one large enough to dominate the wall.

Reflecting on how his identity has shaped his work, Hazlewood laments that many Guyanese may not embrace art for practical reasons. “Who has need for an artist in a place where it is much more useful to be a doctor or lawyer or politician,” sums up Hazlewood. The artist credits his mother for allowing him to pursue his interests in art and literature from a young age, and never telling him that they were unworthy goals.

In addition to his own work, he has created a space for others like him. In Newark, NJ Hazlewood and another Guyanese artist, Victor Davson, established Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art in 1983. “Guyana has world-class writers, and artists (in and out of the country), though these facts may be little known even among other Guyanese,” said Hazlewood.

For Queens residents, Knockdown Center remains a platform for unique voices in art that might otherwise be lost in the mix.

Hazlewood’s mural is part of Knockdown’s “Fifty Two Ft” series of wall-based artworks, and will be up until July 16, when the gallery Q prepares for the next wall piece.

Crossword Answers

Page 37 QUEENS CHRONICLE, Thursday, June 29, 2017

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SPORTS

I HAVE OFTEN WALKED

The brief history of a court’s brief existence

by Ron Marzlock Chronicle Contributor

Ridgewood not only saw an increase in population in the 1920s, but also saw crime go up. In 1931, the area got its own 100-by-100 foot courthouse on the corner of Catalpa Avenue and 64th St reet, directly opposite the 104th Precinct’s headquarters.

The courthouse was titled “Magistrates and Municipal Courthouse.” Scandal broke out almost immediately after The Magistrates and Municipal Courthouse in Ridgewood, it was built, as nearby resi- located at 62-16 Catalpa Ave., or 69-02 64 St., depending dents complained the city was which door you were going in, September 1931. paying for unused spaces centralized courthouses. inside the courthouse.

Kew Gardens and Jamaica became the After things were resolved, the building became a busy court of law, though only for hubs in Queens and the Ridgewood courthouse, then only a little over 30 years old, a fairly short period of time.

On Sept. 1, 1962 the Civil Court of the became obsolete.

By 1965, the site had a new tenant, the City of New York was established as a result of the merger of the City Court and YMCA of Greater New York.

More than 50 years later, the YMCA is the Municipal Court of the City of New Q York. This resulted in each borough getting still thriving.

We will match any competitor's listing commission at time of listing.

Asdrubal asks out

by Lloyd Carroll Chronicle Contributor

It was inevitable that the Mets’ disappointing season would lead to players publicly expressing their unhappiness. On Friday, shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera met with both General Manager Sandy Alderson and Manager Terry Collins to request a trade. While it’s easy to bash Cabrera as yet another ungrateful, high-earning athlete, I am somewhat sympathetic.

In spite of having a fine 2016 season in which he swatted 23 homers and batted a very respectable .280 while collecting many clutch hits, he has always been looked at as a stop-gap until minor league phenomenon Amed Rosario was ready. Cabrera’s contract expires at the end of this season and he has been unmercifully pestered with questions about his status.

He was a good sport about Rosario questions earlier in the season, but his mood turned sour as he heard criticism from fans and media about his frequent errors and diminished range.

The final straw may have occurred when second baseman Neil Walker suffered an injury and went on the disabled list. Collins asked Cabrera to play second while Jose Reyes plays shortstop. Reyes has had a forgettable first half, battling to hit .200. He probably thought Jose should be the one shifting positions.

The Brooklyn Nets finally traded center Brook Lopez after nine years with the team. He

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was dispatched to the Lakers along with a firstround draft choice for guard D’Angelo Russell and center Timofey Mozgov, who once played for the Knicks.

Lopez could be the most underappreciated professional athlete in New York history. He played like an All-Star every year, getting little recognition because the Nets were not very good for most of his tenure. Even if they had been better, the Knicks, for all their problems, are light years ahead of them in terms of fans and media coverage.

The Nets thanked him on their website for his years of service and rightfully so. He never complained about the lack of talent around him or the carousel of head coaches and general managers he dealt with. He was always accessible to the media and would be more than willing to talk about subjects other than basketball.

At Thursday’s NBA Draft, the Nets selected University of Texas center Jarrett Allen to replace him. Allen had a terrific freshman season even though his team wasn’t very good, meaning he should fit seamlessly with the Nets.

Knicks fans are hoping that their team’s firstround selection, point guard Frank Ntilikina, will be better than their last first-round pick from France, center Frederic Weis who was Q chosen in 1999 but never played for them.

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

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