Photo Courtesy of NYC Campaign Finance Board

By Michael V. Cusenza

Queens County Republican Party Chairwoman Joann Ariola made it official this week: she’s running for the City Council District 32 seat.

Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) currently represents the interests of residents of District 32, which includes Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Richmond Hill, Broad Channel, Woodhaven, and the Rockaways; he’s set to be term-limited out of the seat he has held since 2009.

Professionally, Ariola is director of Intergovernmental Affairs for the MediSys Health Network. Off the clock, she is president of the Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic, and a member of both the 106th Precinct Community Council and Community Board 10.

Last year, Ariola ran for Queens Borough President on a platform of public safety/supporting law enforcement; putting an end to community jails and shelters; and reforming property tax laws.

“I’m a Queens resident, wife, mother, and grandmother who works in healthcare. I’m not a career politician,” Ariola said. “Like you, I’m deeply concerned about the future of our city and our borough. I will stand up to the radical career politicians and their pro-crime agenda. I will support the NYPD and keep dangerous criminal behind bars where they belong. I will fight for better transportation and roads as well as oppose toll increases and congestion pricing, because it’s already too hard for us to get to work. I will advocate for all our small business and help them recover. I will fight for quality schools and choice in education. Queens is the most wonderful place and it’s worth fighting for. Our families deserve a safe, clean city.”

Captain John Costello addresses area residents Tuesday.

By Michael V. Cusenza

If you couldn’t make Tuesday’s Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association meeting at St. Helen Catholic Academy you missed an impromptu, symbolic passing of the blue torch as two former commanding officers of the 106th Precinct introduced area residents to their new top cop: Capt. John Costello.

“I have some tremendous shoes to fill,” Costello quipped after accepting the microphone from his immediate predecessor, Deputy Insp. Brian Bohannon, Jr., the newly minted commander of the 113th Precinct who expressed gratitude for the loyalty that Howard Beach and Lindenwood residents have displayed over the past three years.

Costello, 43, took the reins from Bohannon earlier this month. He noted Tuesday that his father, a retired cop, was raised in Howard Beach.

“My roots are from here,” the captain said, later adding that he’s “a third-generation cop” with two brothers and three cousins still on the job. “I’m humble and glad to be part of the community.”

Costello has hit the ground running. On Tuesday, he warned residents about crimes that usually see spikes during the holiday season.

“I’ve noticed in Howard Beach—be cognizant of your packages. Criminals are opportunists,” Costello cautioned. He also pointed out that there are 32 blue U.S. Postal Service collection boxes in Sector A (Howard Beach and Lindenwood); not all have been retrofitted with “fishing-proof” equipment.

“If you can, during the holidays, please physically go into the post office,” the captain said.

Costello on Tuesday also got the stamp of approval from a familiar face: Inspector Jeff Schiff, who led the 106 from September 2013 to March 2016. He’s currently assigned to the Counterterrorism Division.

“He knows what he’s doing fighting crime,” Schiff said of Costello.

Councilman Ulrich secured $1.5 million in capital funding for the exhaustive project.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Significant, long-awaited sewer infrastructure upgrades on a Lindenwood street should be wrapped up by the end of the month, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) recently noted.

“The capital project I announced several weeks ago at the intersection of 79th Street / Shore Parkway should be completed by Thanksgiving week,” Ulrich posted on Twitter last Wednesday night. “This will bring much needed relief to the area.”

In September, Ulrich and City Department of Environmental Protection officials announced the upgrades after examining a familiar eyesore at the northeast corner of the intersection of 157th Avenue and 79th Street, where the slowly sinking roadbed has been perilous for pedestrians and motorists alike for years.

The councilman secured $1.5 million in capital funding for the agency for an exhaustive project that will make significant drainage improvements and level the “sinking” blocks.

Both DEP and the Department of Transportation have mended the area several times since 2014, but the road eventually continued to descend. Area residents have fretted about the swath of street depreciating into a massive sinkhole.

“Patches have been done by DOT [and] DEP to fix the street and sidewalk, but a full restoration really needed to be done and thanks to the Council Member, [there is] now funding [for] it in FY 2020 capital plan to get that placed,” DEP Commissioner Vincent Sapienza, P.E. said.

Ulrich said the completed project will afford area residents a more permanent solution.

“This is one of the most notorious flooding locations in the district. This area has been sunken in for a very long time. DEP and DOT have done their best to patch over the area to mitigate some of flooding, but the blocks continued to sink,” he added.

Community leaders said they’ll be pleased with the “comprehensive fix.”

“This has been a safety concern for us—for people who want to cross here, for people who want to park here, [and] for people who drive down this street when it is dark,” said Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic Association President Joann Ariola-Shanks.

Michael and Jonathan Manta

By Forum Staff

Howard Beach high school student, Michael Manta, last year established his own 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization aimed at getting fellow students to mentor middle schoolers on the high school application process and help with test prep.

And with the aid of an area elected official, Manta hopes to expand his program.

Manta is the co-founder and CEO of NYCMentors.org. He created the program in 2018 as a way to help his younger brother, Jonathan, navigate the high school admission process and expand his search outside of the local high schools. With Michael’s help, Jonathan was eventually accepted to The McCallie School in Tennessee.

Manta’s NYCMentors.org partners high-achieving underserved middle school students with high school students who are looking to give back and help these middle schoolers with the high school admission process, give them advice, and help with test prep, because many underserved middle school students do not have access to those resources, Manta noted.

“I really wanted to do something to give back,” he added. “There’s not really a program in New York City that has this type of mentorship. Having high school students working directly with middle school students, it gives them an older brother or older sister to get advice from. You don’t get that from just tutoring and test prep.”

Manta is now looking to grow his organization and has reached out to State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) for help.

“When Michael came to me with his program and told me he is looking to expand the number of students he would be able to reach, I knew I had to help,” said Addabbo, a member of the Senate Education Committee. “I have a daughter in high school and another in middle school, and I know how much of a resource my oldest will be for when my youngest daughter makes that jump into high school. I would love to be able to help students who may not have anyone to help them figure out the complex application process, and what other things a student may need to get into the high school they want—like joining clubs and extracurricular activities.”

Currently, NYCMentors.org can pair only 25 middle school students with high school mentors. They are looking for grants that will help them expand the student pool, but also keep the quality of mentorship. Manta is also looking to sign up additional mentors and mentees.

Manta also announced that NYCMentors.org will have a table at the 19th Annual Chess-in-the-Park Rapid Open on Saturday, Sept. 14 at the Bethesda Fountain, Central Park and 72nd Street. NYCMentors.org will be at the event from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. signing up high school and middle school students who wish to participate in the program.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about the program or who may want to volunteer to be a mentor can find more information at nycmentors.org, or can reach out via email at info@nycmentors.org.

Due to the deterioration of the building, DOB issued an immediate emergency declaration allowing a city contractor to demolish the home.

By Michael V. Cusenza

An unoccupied residence that has teetered precariously on the lip of a Hawtree Basin inlet in Hamilton Beach since Superstorm Sandy inundated the area with water in 2012 partially collapsed into the drink on Monday, according to officials and eyewitnesses.
A City Department of Buildings spokeswoman told The Forum that the agency responded to reports of a leaning building at 102-39 Russell St. DOB inspectors found that the vacant, single-family home had shifted 2-3 feet toward the waterway behind it. Any utility services feeding the home were cut. Due to the deterioration of the building, DOB issued an immediate emergency declaration allowing a city contractor to demolish the home.
The spokeswoman indicated that DOB will continue to monitor the edifice until the home is demolished. In addition, the agency issued an aggravated violation to the building owner for failure to maintain the home in a code-compliant manner.
The property owner has pledged to DOB that they will hire a private contractor to perform the work; however, if they do not commence the demolition right away, a City contractor will perform the work and bill the owner.
The City Office of Emergency Management promised to conduct a follow-up probe of the site on Wednesday.
Area residents have been alerting elected officials and authorities about the home and others like it for years. Just last May, residents in Old Howard Beach made several calls to The Forum after a waterfront property located on Bayview Avenue near 163rd Avenue in Ramblersville, abandoned since Superstorm Sandy hit, began to sink further into Hawtree Creek.
Fears had been mounting that the shed and the deck attached to the property would soon break free and clog the waters of the creek, introducing dangerous conditions in the waterway and prohibiting any watercraft from passing.
As with all properties in similar condition, the homeowners were offered the choice to renovate, rebuild, or surrender the property for market value to the City’s Build it Back initiative. Due to the highly restrictive conditions and the extended time frame involved, the owners of the property chose to participate in the acquisition phase of the program and sold their home to the City.
The house, which was under the jurisdiction of the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, has been demolished.

Councilman Eric Ulrich this week announced his intention to run in the special election for Public Advocate.

By Michael V. Cusenza

After weeks of speculation, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) announced on Monday that he is running for Public Advocate in the upcoming special election for the citywide post that Tish James will vacate on Jan. 1 when she is sworn in as State attorney general.

Ulrich, 33, made it official with a 70-second YouTube video filmed in his native Ozone Park.

“Now, more than ever, New Yorkers are looking for someone who’s willing to stand up to Mayor de Blasio and his so-called progressive agenda,” Ulrich said.

For years, the councilman, who has represented South Queens on the council since 2009, has been quite vocal about his disdain for de Blasio and his politics, often relishing his role as the wily fly in Hizzoner’s liberal liniment.

“If you ask the mayor who on the City Council annoys him the most,” Ulrich said at a 2017 Howard Beach Lindenwood Civic meeting, “he’ll tell you it’s me.”

The YouTube clip presents more of that anti-de Blasio bravado. Ulrich uses the platform to make his case as the best man to bring checks and balances back to Gotham politics.

“I’m running for Public Advocate because I believe that we as a city deserve better, and because I want to give a voice to the majority of New Yorkers who this mayor continues to ignore,” Ulrich said. “Time and time again, this mayor has let us down, or he sold out the people of this city in exchange for a campaign contribution or a political favor. It’s no secret that it’s the special-interest groups and the lobbyists that are calling the shots at City Hall. It must end. And it can end.”

Ulrich enters an already crowded fray. On Wednesday, Gotham Gazette estimated that there are “roughly two-dozen candidates who have officially declared or indicated they are exploring a run in the expected February special election for New York City Public Advocate.”

The meeting was held on Tuesday evening at the Howard Beach Library.

By Michael V. Cusenza
For generations, excessive noise has been a seemingly endless source of irritation from Breezy Point to Beechhurst.
And in recent weeks, Queens’ quality-of-life cacophony has created a summer of discontent for several Howard Beach residents who brought the issue to the attention of 106th Precinct Neighborhood Coordination Officers Tuesday evening at the Sector A (Howard Beach, Lindenwood) Build the Block meeting.
The “mystery music,” along with decidedly not harmonious sounds are emanating from the Howard Beach-Brooklyn border. The 106 NCOs Pete Paese and Mike Petrizzo indicated that they have discussed the problem with their colleagues in East New York’s 75th Precinct.
“Brooklyn deals with a lot more than Howard Beach deals with,” Petrizzo said. “Noise might not be a priority for them.”
The NCOs on Tuesday also encouraged meeting attendees gathered in the Howard Beach Library to continue calling and/or texting 311.
Some weary residents let out exasperated sighs when the city’s non-emergency governmental services and information line was even mentioned.
“311 is not good at responding, but they are a very good tracking system,” said long-time Community Board 10 Chairwoman Betty Braton, who later noted that Howard Beach isn’t even the noisiest patch of the precinct. That honor is shared by South Ozone Park and Richmond Hill.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Police were able to set the Howard Beach community at ease on Monday after several erroneous reports of a major shooting incident on Cross Bay Boulevard were splashed across social media platforms and even major newspaper screens, leading to at least one school lockdown.

“Nobody got shot in Howard Beach, residents were safe the whole time,” 106th Precinct Community Affairs Officer Mark Competello told The Forum.

According to police reports, a man was driving his SUV westbound on the Belt Parkway within the confines of the 113th Precinct on Monday morning when another vehicle pulled up to him and the driver unloaded three shots at the SUV.

The SUV driver then exited the parkway and flagged down the first cop he saw at Cross Bay Boulevard and 156th Avenue to report the incident. The motorist was not injured, cops said. However, he was taken into custody when records revealed an outstanding warrant attached to his name.

Saint Helen Catholic Academy in Rockwood Park was on temporary lockdown as a result of the activity in the area.

Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza

By Michael V. Cusenza

Lindenwood community leaders and elected officials have enthusiastically approved the City Department of Transportation’s proposal to turn a dangerous traffic triangle into a safer mini roundabout.
The Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic, Community Board 10, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach) and State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) all gave the green light to the plan late last week.
“Everyone’s on board,” civic President Joann Ariola told The Forum on Tuesday.
Poor visibility and the confusing, labyrinthine configuration of the traffic triangle at the intersection of 153rd Avenue and 88th Street have sparked accidents and myriad near-misses for many years, area residents have noted.
“It’s a problem,” Ariola sighed. “I’ve lived here my whole life and even I’ve taken a wrong turn there.”
According to the DOT proposal, the mini roundabout features: new crossings with painted refuge islands and curb extensions; additional pedestrian space; flush medians; and striped parking lanes.
And the benefits of the plan include: new shorter crossings clarify pedestrian paths and expand the pedestrian network; calms traffic on all approaches to intersection; reduces speeding by narrowing travel lanes with painted parking lanes and flush medians; large, painted pedestrian area provides a new public space to the community.
“The ins and outs of the traffic pattern will be evident,” Ariola said.
A brightly decorated centerpiece will also be noticeable when the project is completed in time for the start of the 2018-2019 school year. The City has promised to install flower boxes and other amenities at the intersection. The civic has pledged to maintain it.
“So it’s going to be a beautification site as well as a safer place for motorists and pedestrians,” Ariola added.
The redesign of the Lindenwood traffic triangle has been a long time coming. For years, community leaders and elected officials have implored DOT to do something to enhance pedestrian and driver safety at the intersection. Ariola noted that the reconfiguration is the product of a public-private partnership.
“This really is the perfect example of community and government working together,” she said.

Or what about someone who knew the young man who was behind the wheel—perhaps his parent, a sibling or a girlfriend. They were gripped with overwhelming panic and anxiety.
And how about one of the owners or the management team at Howard Plaza Shopping Center, assigned blame for something they took every conceivable measure to prevent.
Perhaps we should all look toward expanding the traditional inferences of looking both ways — when we cross into the dangerous path of vehicles, and when we cross the harmful lines of disseminating false information.
We hope Sandy Rosenthal continues on the path to a full recovery.
We hope the young man who was driving realizes the error of his ways and in the days ahead can come to terms with what he did in a moment of recklessness that cost both he and the Rosenthal family such pain.
And we hope that when you step off a curb you take a moment to turn your head in every direction to ensure your safety. And that when you step out onto the highway of information, you resist the temptations of dangerous and harmful speculation.
Just look both ways.

The victim, her family, the driver and his family, all of whose lives will be inexorably marked by a few minutes in a neighborhood strip mall. The saddest part of all is that it could easily have been prevented.

Some positive and negative changes are on the way to Select Bus Service lanes along Cross Bay Boulevard.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The Saturday “rush hour” limitations on parking in curbside Select Bus Service lanes along Cross Bay Boulevard south of Liberty Avenue have been lifted, according to area elected officials.
State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach), who have been in discussions with the City Department of Transportation for months to amend the active hours, made the announcement on Thursday in front of C-Town Supermarket on Cross Bay Boulevard and Sutter Avenue.
“When I first saw that the curbside SBS lanes would be in effect on Saturdays, I knew that had to be changed. There is no rush hour on Saturday, so I felt that day should be given back to the drivers, allowing them to park and access the local businesses,” Addabbo said. “I am glad to see that DOT heard the frustrations and followed through on their promise to continue to look at the SBS route after it was implemented to see how it affected the residents and business owners.”
When the new Q52/Q53 Woodhaven-Cross Bay Corridor bus service began in November, curbside SBS lanes were active during the morning and afternoon rush hours, from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m., and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Saturday, frustrating area residents and business owners who lamented the loss of valuable parking spots.
Pheffer Amato praised DOT for the “common sense” move.
“Our local businesses are the heart and soul of South Queens, it is great to see the Department of Transportation listen and work with our community to ensure residents can have the ability to access their local businesses and facilities,” she said.
Addabbo called the Saturday change a big win for area entrepreneurs. Since November, Addabbo, Pheffer, City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park), and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) have been inundated with business-constituent concerns regarding the negative impact of the City’s latest SBS venture.
“While it is important to expand bus service to neighborhoods like the Rockaways, where transportation options are limited – it is crucial the expansion does not come at the expense of residents and local business owners,” Ulrich said.
“Many businesses were negatively affected by the SBS lanes,” Addabbo added. “This change is a step in the right direction to make the roads accessible for everyone and I appreciate DOT’s willingness to work with the local electeds and the community.”
In other SBS news, on Monday DOT announced that, beginning Feb. 20, it will be issuing bus lane camera violations along the Cross Bay route.
If you drive, park, or stand in a bus lane during hours of operation you face fines ranging from $115 to $150, DOT noted.
Each corridor has signage indicating the hours that the bus lanes are operable, and that the lanes are camera enforced. The department indicated that it issues warnings to motorists for at least 60 days prior, per state law, when the cameras are first operated to ensure that drivers are informed about the program. Since violations are issued against the vehicle, not the driver, points are not deducted from motorists’ licenses.

Capt. Brian Bohannon and Capt. Courtney Nilan

By Michael V. Cusenza

It certainly has been a banner 12 months for the City’s Finest. As of Wednesday, Dec. 27, there had been an eye-popping 286 murders in the five boroughs in 2017 – the lowest number on record.
For perspective, in the early 1990s the NYPD investigated more than 2,000 homicides per year.
Ask any veteran beat cop, seasoned gumshoe, or legendary boss: Success starts at the precinct level.
So The Forum sat down with the commanders of the 102nd and 106th precincts this week to learn more about their 2017 success stories, and the issues they’re looking to address during the first few weeks of 2018.
Though Capt. Courtney Nilan only assumed the reins of the 102 six weeks ago, the borough native is quite familiar with the command – she was its Special Operations lieutenant for two years. Nilan is especially proud of the overall decrease in crime in the precinct – 21 percent compared to 2016; the steepest drop of all Queens South posts. And the two-year difference is even more remarkable: 34 percent.
Nilan points to precision policing, technological advances, and the improvement in cop-community relations as reasons for the crime-fighting achievements in the 102.
“Technology has a lot to do with it; it deters a lot of criminals. Nowadays, you can’t commit a crime without being on 10 different videos, or tracked on your phones,” she noted.
Though the 102 isn’t set to install the department’s wildly successful Neighborhood Policing program until this summer, Nilan credits a strengthening of the unique bond between police and the people they swore to protect and serve with helping to bring down negative numbers.
“It has helped both with crime prevention and solving crimes after they happen,” she added.
As for what’s on her radar for 2018, Nilan said she’s focusing on a small uptick in commercial burglaries in the precinct, especially on Jamaica Avenue, 101st Avenue, and Atlantic Avenue.
Captain Brian Bohannon has skippered the 106th Precinct ship for the past 14 months. For 2017, overall crime is down more than 5 percent; two-year totals have it plummeting nearly 20 percent. He points to technology, the Neighborhood Policing program, which launched in the 106 over the summer, and “accurate and quick dissemination of intelligence” as pillars of his precinct’s success.
“Where crimes occurred, how they occurred – we can get that to our officers quickly, pretty much in real time,” he told The Forum. “And we’re getting a lot of good feedback on Neighborhood Policing. If we get a call about smoke, we address it before it becomes fire. And the people trust that we’re responding to them.”
In the first weeks of 2018, Bohannon said he’s also attacking a commercial burglary issue and some quality of life holdovers.
Overall he’s “extremely happy and confident in the command,” he added, “and looking forward to building on our success.”

The opioid addiction crisis is worse than most of us imagine. It impacts us all, from Rego Park to Rockaway Park to Redwoods Park. An expert panel, convened by STAT (an investigative medical news branch of the Boston Globe), estimates that opioids could kill nearly half a million Americans over the next decade. The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) recently released a report stating the economic cost of the opioid addiction crisis is six times higher than previous estimates. The CEA says the economic cost of the opioid crisis in 2015 was $504.0 billion, 2.8 percent of GDP (compared to the percent of GDP for Medicare, and Medicaid: 3.5 and 2 respectively).
A key tool to address the opioid addiction crisis is expanding access to safe disposal for unwanted household medications in the form of drug take-back programs. Removing unwanted medications from the home limits illegal diversion and decreases the chances of accidental child poisonings and aquatic contamination from trashing or flushing medications.
While State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and other legislators should be applauded for their interest in addressing the public and environmental health impacts of over-prescribed medications, Gov. Andrew Cuomo should VETO the chain pharmacy take-back bill (S.6750). This chain pharmacy bill does a poor job of providing convenient take-back, and it gives little consideration to consumer convenience or public education.
With this bill, rural areas with no chain pharmacy will likely remain without a safe disposal option.
Where there are chain pharmacies, the $2 fee for a small take-back envelope will discourage consumer participation and will cause prescription drugs to remain in medicine cabinets. A manufacturer-funded drug take-back program would be free to the public and would better encourage safe drug disposal.
Instead, this bill puts the cost of recovering unwanted pharmaceuticals for safe destruction on chain pharmacies and consumers, while allowing drug manufacturers to avoid any financial responsibility for safely managing the disposal of their products. It further guarantees manufacturers a free pass by preempting local existing legislation (Rockland County), proposed legislation (Erie and Westchester counties), and future legislation that requires manufacturers to organize and pay for take-back programs. It is worth noting that in the last five years, pharmaceutical lobbyists contributed more than $1.7 million to NYS political campaigns and S.6750’s sponsor, State Sen. Kemp Hannon (R-Garden City), was one of the top individual beneficiaries, receiving more than $71,000.
This take-back bill does too little, and it puts the cost on consumers and pharmacies rather than on the drug manufacturers who profit most from medication sales.
Governor Cuomo should instead support extended producer responsibility (EPR) legislation that establishes a drug take-back program fully funded by drug manufacturers, containing strong convenience and public education standards. Using pharmacy-based receptacles, take-back would only cost manufacturers about $0.01 per prescription. Two states, 18 municipalities, and many other countries have such pharmaceutical EPR laws. Now is the time for New York to establish a convenient, comprehensive, and well-promoted take-back program for unwanted pharmaceuticals that is paid for by drug manufacturers.

Gottlieb is :
Chairman, Tompkins County Coalition for Safe Medication Disposal; Board member, New York Product Stewardship Council; Member, National Association of Clean Water Agencies Pretreatment & Pollution Prevention Committee; Member, Product Stewardship Institute Pharmaceuticals’ Policy & Coordination Work Group Member, Tompkins County Water Resources Council (pending legislative approval) Member, New York Water Environment Association, Government Affairs Committee

Howard Beach resident Karina Vetrano was brutally murdered inside Spring Creek Park in August 2016.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The video recording of accused Karina Vetrano killer Chanel Lewis stoically recounting for detectives how he brutally murdered the beloved Howard Beach resident took center stage on Monday in a borough courtroom during a pre-trial evidentiary hearing.
According to the New York Post, Vetrano’s family endured the details of Karina’s final moments as Lewis delivered them to investigators inside the 107th Precinct stationhouse. Her parents and sister watched the footage of the February confession in horror on Monday.
Lewis, 21, told cops that he grabbed Vetrano, 30, as she jogged past him inside Spring Creek Park on Aug. 2, 2016. She fought for her life as Lewis tried his best to knock her out.
“She didn’t yell. She was finished,” Lewis said in the Post story. “I finished her off, I strangled her. She fell into the puddle and drowned.”
Though Vetrano had been sexually assaulted, Lewis insists on the tape he had nothing to do with that element of the attack.
“I didn’t do any of the stuff they said, sexual assault and stuff like that,” he said.
When asked for a motive, Lewis answered, “Because a guy moved into my house and the neighborhood.”
Lewis’ family apparently could not bear to sit through the entire footage.
“His family left the room,” Karina’s dad, Phil Vetrano, told the Post. “They couldn’t listen to his confession. We know where the coward got his cowardliness from. The truth hurts. It’s pathetic.”
Phil Vetrano and NYPD investigators discovered his daughter’s body that summer night lying in a marshy area, approximately fifteen feet from a trail near 161st Avenue and 78th Street in the park.
Lewis, an East New York resident, was arrested in February, six months after the murder. He was arraigned in April on a 13-count indictment charging him with murder and sexual abuse in the strangulation death of Vetrano: four counts of first-degree murder; five counts of second-degree murder; two counts of first-degree aggravated sexual abuse; and two counts of first-degree sexual abuse.
According to court records, Lewis’ trial date is scheduled for Jan. 9, 2018. If convicted, he faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The summer crime story of the 106th Precinct was a relatively blissfully quiet tale, according to command brass who on Tuesday delivered statistics to area residents at the Howard Beach-Lindenwood Civic meeting at St. Helen Catholic Academy.

“The summer was pretty slow,” said Capt. Michael Edmonds, executive officer of the precinct.

Overall, complaints for major index crimes – murder, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny, and grand larceny auto – are down by more than 100, year to date, compared to the same period in 2016.

“That’s pretty much because of the eyes and ears of my cops,” Edmonds added.

The XO later extolled the benefits of Neighborhood-Based Policing, which was instituted in the 106 in July.

“It’s definitely been working out,” he said.

Captain Edmonds also noted that thanks in large part to the new Neighborhood-Based Policing approach, response times in the south Queens command has plummeted to approximately five minutes from nine minutes just a year ago. This statistic elicited loud cheers from all inside St. Helen’s cafeteria.

In other civic meeting developments, Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-Howard Beach) noted that she’s gearing up for an upcoming special conference in Albany to discuss the funding of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Pheffer Amato pledged to raise the subject of reactivating the long-defunct 3.5 mile Rockaway Beach Rail Line, which, before it was shuttered in 1962, connected Rockaway and southern Queens with Rego Park, provided area residents with expedient access to other parts of the city, and 40-minute commutes to Midtown Manhattan from the Rockaway Peninsula.

The transformed track would be known as QueensRail.

“If it ever has the chance to get on the books, it’s kind of right now,” the assemblywoman said on Tuesday evening. “We can’t keep investing in the same system; we have to have an alternative.”

Pheffer Amato also mentioned that groups supporting the concept of the QueensWay project – converting the abandoned RBRL into a $120 million public park, similar to the Highline in Chelsea, boasting trails and amenities – have not been amenable to compromise.

“We met with them, and they really weren’t budging,” she said.

Still, the assemblywoman indicated that she has faith that the underfunded underdogs will emerge victorious.

“I’m not concerned with their fancy brochures and buttons – we are the voice of the people,” Pheffer Amato added. “I do believe in [the QueensRail]. I do believe transportation will prevail.”

File Photo

A crew of mob-linked crooks terrorized Howard Beach, Ozone Park, and parts of Long Island in 2013-2014 through a series of lucrative home invasions.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The Department of Justice once again has reputed Bonanno family capo Vinny Asaro in its crosshairs, with federal prosecutors looking to link the 81-year-old legend to a motley crew of mob associates responsible for a series of brutal home-invasion robberies in south Queens and Long Island, according to an explosive new report.

La Cosa Nostra expert Jerry Capeci, citing law enforcement sources in his Sept. 8 GangLandNews.com column, said that Asaro is one of the “subjects of an ongoing federal grand jury investigation” centered on the team of thieves that terrorized residences in Howard Beach and Ozone Park from 2012 to 2014.

Eastern District prosecutors seeking indictments have been presenting evidence and witnesses to the grand jury for several months about “dozens” of violent robberies in which masked intruders beat victims, force them to strip naked and tie them up before making off with cash and jewelry.

Federal attorneys, still smarting from Asaro’s acquittal last year following a dramatic trial that saw the government attempt to tie the Howard Beach resident to the 1978 Lufthansa heist, are reportedly relying on two star informants to cinch any loose ends.

“Feeding the feds the inside info on the home invasion ring, sources say, are Frank Nunziata, and Gene Borrello, two 31-year-old members of the robbery crew that also preyed on residents in other sections of Queens and on Long Island,” Capeci wrote. “Both men are said to be cooperating in a probe by the FBI, the Brooklyn U.S. Attorney’s office and the Queens District Attorney’s office.”

The offices of the Eastern District U.S. Attorney and Queens DA did not respond to requests for information on Nunziata. Court records show that he is due to be sentenced on Sept. 19 on drug and weapons charges. However, his sentencing appearance has been adjourned to a later date seven times since March 11, 2015, though it is unclear why.

As Capeci noted in his column, Nunziata has been cooperating with the NYPD since he was arrested in Howard Beach in 2013 for the drugs and guns. Borrello reportedly recently told federal investigators that, indeed, he has been working for Asaro.

Last November, after a three-week trial that featured testimony from turncoat mobsters, including two of Asaro’s cousins, and two days of jury deliberations, the reputed Bonanno captain was cleared on all counts of murder, murder conspiracy, racketeering, extortion, and other crimes.

Perhaps most notably, Asaro also beat the Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy charge for his alleged role in the infamous Lufthansa job at what is now known as John F. Kennedy International Airport, which netted the brazen Bonanno bandits nearly $5 million in untraceable cash and $875,000 in jewelry.

Asaro’s 2014 indictment included the 1969 murder of mob associate Paul Katz, because federal investigators have long believed that Asaro and Jimmy Burke whacked him. Some time in the 1980s, Asaro ordered his son, Jerome, to move Katz’s bones from an Ozone Park home, which was owned by Burke, because investigators were looking into Katz’s mysterious disappearance. According to the New York Post, federal agents acting on a tip descended on the house in 2013 and found Katz’s partial remains.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

 The Vetrano family this week announced that they are getting a team together to participate in the 2016 Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk in honor of murder victim Karina Vetrano.

By Michael V. Cusenza

 After a somewhat scattered end of August, the Karina Vetrano murder investigation seemed to slow down this week as it embarked on its second month.

The excitement ignited by the Aug. 31 release of a composite sketch of an individual whom investigators have characterized as a witness to the brutal crime has been blunted over the past seven days by a dearth of solid leads.

Still, Karina’s family remains convinced that the break that everyone is clamoring for is right around the corner.

“Keep those $11 [donations] coming,” Karina’s dad, Phil, wrote on Sunday on the GoFundMe page of the Karina Vetrano Memorial Reward Fund, which has raised more than $270,000. “We are getting close in the investigation.”

Vetrano, 30, was beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted in the evening hours of Aug. 2 on her daily run inside Spring Creek Park.

Additionally this week, Phil Vetrano, a retired FDNY firefighter, announced that family and friends are organizing a team to participate in this year’s Tunnel to Towers 5K Run & Walk on Sept. 25 in honor of Karina.

Proceeds from the annual event are used by the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation to support programs which honor first responders and military personnel who make extraordinary sacrifices in the line of duty.

“As we near the 15th anniversary of 9/11,” foundation leaders wrote in a message posted on its website, “we continue to urge Americans to honor our first responders, all who lost their lives on that fateful day, and those who have been catastrophically injured while fighting for the country. It’s imperative that we celebrate these heroes and honor their legacy forever.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

The fifth week of the investigation into the rape and murder of beloved Howard Beach jogger Karina Vetrano has proven to be, at once, the case’s most bizarre, frustrating, and exhilarating seven days since Karina’s dad, Phil, discovered her battered body inside Spring Creek Park on Aug. 2.

City detectives on Wednesday released a sketch of a man they believe to be a witness to the murder who was last seen exiting the north end of the federal park, near the Belt Parkway.

“We want to speak to this person,” said NYPD Chief of Detectives Robert Boyce, “because we feel that he was there.”

Details for the composite were provided by a utility worker who saw the man leave the park around the time of Karina’s murder. He has been described as a black man, 35-45 years old, 5-foot-10 with a medium build; he was last seen wearing dark pants with a red T-shirt, and a dark wool hat, Boyce said.

Police reiterated that the man depicted in the sketch is not considered a suspect or person of interest.

“He was seen in the area,” Boyce said. “This is someone we believe that could provide us additional leads.”

Also this week, Phil and Cathie Vetrano appeared separately on the afternoon-drive radio program of media personality and leader of the Guardian Angels, Curtis Sliwa. On Monday, Phil focused on an unidentified male jogger that he and Karina would see “four or five days a week” for the past three years.

Last weekend, Curtis Sliwa, media personality and leader of the Guardian Angels, visited Spring Creek Park and the area where Karina Vetrano was brutally murdered on Aug. 2. Karina’s dad, Phil Vetrano, appeared on Sliwa’s radio show on Monday afternoon.

“Now he just dropped off the face of the earth,” Phil told Sliwa and his WABC 770-AM listeners. “We know he’s from the neighborhood. It’s very important that we speak to him.”

This, however, turned into another dead-end. The 48-year-old went to the 106^th Precinct on Monday night to set the record straight and inform investigators that he hasn’t been in the area of Spring Creek since the murder because he suffered a major knee injury.

And on Tuesday, the NYPD said it has fully developed a DNA profile of the person who killed Karina, but after several attempts with several databases, the profile has yet to yield a match.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

The National Park Service on Wednesday indicated that it is considering organizing a full security evaluation of Spring Creek Park in Howard Beach, according to an agency spokeswoman.

A week after eight security cameras were installed by the City Police Department along sections of the park’s perimeter, NPS Public Affairs Specialist Daphne Yun told The Forum that the Service was “exploring many short-term investments, including bringing in regional support to do a physical security assessment.”

The safety and security of Spring Creek patrons and the green space’s Howard Beach neighbors have come roaring back to the fore over the past four weeks. On Aug. 2, Karina Vetrano, 30, was beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted while on her daily run inside Spring Creek. The case remains open and unsolved.

The park’s eight new surveillance measures were purchased with funds allocated by Queens Borough President Melinda Katz. Earlier this year, Katz secured $1.2 million for 34 cameras to be installed around the county.

Roughly 24 hours after Vetrano’s body was discovered in the Spring Creek marshes, Katz called the NYPD to request that at least some of the cameras be designated for the park. That Friday, Aug. 5 – just two days after the Katz phone call – the department contacted the BP to inform her that eight cameras were feasible for areas around the federal land.

“Borough President Katz was pleased to provide the funds, and is grateful to the NYPD for being responsive and considering our request,” said Katz spokeswoman Sharon Lee.

On Monday, Aug. 8, during a Town Hall meeting to discuss the Vetrano case and efforts to ensure the safety and security of residents, Katz told an anxious community that the cameras were on their way.

“It’s important for folks to know: You enter there, you exit there, you’re going to be filmed,” Katz said of Spring Creek.

According to the NYPD, the department began using advanced video analytic software in select camera feeds about six years ago. When fully configured, the analytics can alert police in real-time to a variety of potentially suspicious objects or activities, including unattended parcels, movement in restricted areas, and unusual loitering, and enables investigators to search multiple cameras simultaneously to retrieve incidents of concern. As per the NYPD’s privacy policy, footage is discarded after 30 days unless in the event of an investigation.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

South Queens Assembly candidate Stacey Pheffer Amato last week hosted supporters at the formal grand opening of her campaign headquarters in Rockaway Beach.

The Democrat, who is vying to succeed Phil Goldfeder in the 23^rd District, welcomed more than 100 guests to the Rockaway Beach Boulevard office.

“Truly overwhelmed by such a strong showing of support from my friends, family and community!” Pheffer Amato wrote on her Facebook page last Thursday evening. “Thank you to everyone who came out to help me open my office tonight and kick start our campaign! I could not have asked for a better night!”

It’s been a busy week for the Rockaway Democratic district leader. On Tuesday, 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East and the New York State Nurses Association endorsed Pheffer Amato.

“Stacey’s commitment to ensuring every family receives the best possible healthcare makes her the clear champion of working New Yorkers and the values we hold dear,” said Helen Schaub, 1199SEIU vice president for Policy and Legislation. “At a time when healthcare is transforming, she will ‎fight for access to needed services and high quality jobs. Stacey will be a powerful voice in Albany for the working people of Queens.”

Goldfeder stunned colleagues and constituents in June when he announced that he would not seek a fourth term in Albany. The popular pol’s next stop will be Yeshiva University, where he is slated to step in as director of Government Relations in January.

Goldfeder quickly endorsed Pheffer Amato, calling her “that strong voice who will continue our work to ensure every family can recover from [Superstorm] Sandy, have access to transportation, and look forward to a better future for themselves and their children.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com