Mayor Bill de Blasio visited some of the damaged houses after the Nov. 30, 2019 disaster.

By Michael V. Cusenza

As the one-year anniversary of the South Queens sewage flood disaster approaches, attorneys for many of the homeowners affected by the incident say the City has failed to negotiate in good faith to pay for the damage incurred in their residences.

“Incredulously, the City’s reason for offering less than fair market value on everything that was lost, which had to be replaced and rebuilt, was that our clients do not all have a complete inventory of lost items with photographs of the items,” said Craig Phemister of Napoli Shkolnik PLLC. “The City’s position is abhorrent, given that the City is the one who rushed in to remove all the contaminated items. The City should have been the ones to properly inventory and photograph the removed items before disposing of them.”

In a December 2019 Department of Environmental Protection report, the City admitted that the collapse of an old pipe installed 32 years ago 40 feet underground along 150th Street near South Conduit Avenue caused an extensive flood of raw sewage on Nov. 30, 2019 that damaged more than 70 homes in South Ozone Park and Jamaica.

The DEP even stated in the analysis that it “accepts responsibility” for the calamity.

The City has confirmed that more than 70 homes in South Ozone Park and Jamaica were affected by flooding. File Photo

Napoli Shkolnik has filed a lawsuit “against the City to recover all that was lost and had to be replaced or repaired due to the City’s negligence in installing and maintaining the sewage system in Ozone Park,” Phemister said.

“It is imperative that the City take action on this, as they promised they would,” he added.

According to the DEP, the “road collapsing due to the subsidence of overburden demonstrates that the 42-inch sewer constructed in 1987 is significantly collapsed, and that any other cause for the November 30th blockage is extremely unlikely.”

The stabbing occurred during a violent brawl inside Cookie’s Lounge in Ozone Park.

By Michael V. Cusenza

A Jamaica man has been convicted in the July 2017 stabbing death of a man inside of an Ozone Park watering hole, Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan recently announced.

Following a two-week trial, Kenneth Shaw, 38, was found guilty last Wednesday of first-degree manslaughter. He faces five to 25 years in prison.

According to trial testimony, on July 13, 2017, at approximately 12:55 a.m. inside of Cookie’s Lounge on Cross Bay Boulevard, Shaw touched the tattoo of a woman at the bar. The woman’s friend took offense and pushed Shaw and a brawl ensued. John Savillo, 55, of Ozone Park, allegedly broke a stool over another patron’s head and choked him. Savillo was then stabbed twice in the torso and sustained a lacerated liver.

Savillo was immediately transported to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with internal bleeding. The married father and grandfather succumbed to his injuries about 13 hours after the fight.

Ryan said that Shaw “turned an evening in a bar into mayhem and bloodshed. A man is dead over a petty dispute and the defendant has now been found guilty of taking a life. After careful deliberation, the jury found him guilty and the defendant will face a lengthy term of punishment for this senseless act of violence.”

However, then-DA Richard Brown originally balked at prosecuting Shaw. According to law enforcement officials, witnesses supported his claim that Savillo initiated the melee.

“The District Attorney’s Office has declined to file charges at this time, citing the need for further investigation,” spokesman Kevin Ryan told The Forum on Monday, July 17, 2017.

This did not sit well with Savillo’s loved ones.

“It’s an injustice that this man is allowed to go on with his life,” John Andriano, a nephew of Savillo, told the New York Daily News.

Shaw was indicted a month later. He was arraigned on Aug. 29, 2017, on a single charge of first-degree manslaughter with intent to cause physical injury.

The DA’s Office did not explain why it switched gears and ultimately decided to present the case to the grand jury. Shaw’s attorney, Marcia Payton, did not return a call seeking comment.

Shaw is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2.

By Michael V. Cusenza

In the early morning hours of Feb. 26, 1988, Eddie Byrne gave up everything for this borough, this city, this country. That Friday, Eddie Byrne made the kind of once-every-millennium sacrifice that you might only have read about in comic books.

That sacrifice certainly changed Gotham City.

Byrne, a rookie City cop just seven months out of the academy and assigned to the 103rd Precinct, was summarily executed on Feb. 26, 1988, as he sat in his marked radio motor patrol car at 107th Avenue and Inwood Street in Jamaica, guarding the home of a critical witness in a major drug case.

The four killers that were convicted of the assassination—Philip Copeland, Todd Scott, Scott Cobb, and David McClary—were members of a drug gang that had been instructed to kill a police officer. At approximately 3:30 a.m., one of the men knocked on the passenger-side window of Byrne’s car to distract him as a second man opened fire just outside the driver’s side window. Byrne was shot five times in the head.

Byrne, a rookie just seven months out of the Police Academy and assigned to the 103rd Precinct, was killed guarding a critical witness in a major Jamaica drug case. Photo Courtesy of NYPD

He was 22 years old.

Copeland, Scott, Cobb, and McClary were sentenced to 25 years to life in prison. Each has been denied parole at their hearings.

On Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, a grateful city gathered at that infamous Jamaica intersection to mark the 30th anniversary of Eddie Byrne’s sacrifice.

“That was the beginning. That was a wakeup call for this whole city that it was time. It was time to no longer accept the violence that was so prevalent in New York City back in the ’70s and the ’80s,” recalled City Police Commissioner Jim O’Neill. “That wasn’t the high water mark though. In 1990 there were 2,245 homicides, but that was the beginning and we continued each and every year after that to make sure that the people who take this job understand why they take it. They take it to make a difference and to do good, and to make life better for the 8.5 million people in this great city. And they continue to do it each and every day.”

Mayor Bill de Blasio characterized Byrne’s death as not just simply a tipping point, but the spark of a revolution.

“In every tragedy we look for something we can cling onto and the case of the loss of Eddie is something very, very meaningful. He did not die in vain by any stretch of the imagination. There was anger, there was revulsion at the death of this good, young man,” he said. “It was not something this city ignored. It galvanized people, created one of those moments where people said enough is enough. The city came together and with the NYPD, the people of this city said we will not accept a situation where a young man like this is taken from us and we will not accept lawlessness. The NYPD, working with partners in every community block by block over years proceeded to take back this city. Many believe it began that day. I think a way to think about it is this: Eddie Byrne’s life may have ended but his tour of duty never did.”

Yonatan Galvez-Marin has been charged in what DA Brown has called a “senseless murder.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

A Jamaica man has been charged with the Aug. 31 murder of a 60­year­old Bangladeshi immigrant whose nephew is a City cop.

Yonatan Galvez-Marin, 22, was arraigned on Sunday on a complaint charging him with two counts of second-­degree murder, first­-degree attempted robbery, and fourth­-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered held without bail and to return to court on Sept. 9.

If convicted, Galvez-Marin faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said that, according to the charges, last Wednesday at approximately 9:15 p.m., the victim, Nazma Khanam, 60, of Jamaica Hills, was walking down Normal Road just steps ahead of her husband, MD Shamul Alam Khan, 67, when Galvez-Marin approached her and demanded money. After Khanam refused, Galvez-Marin allegedly stabbed her in her torso once and fled.

According to the complaint, Galvez-Marin confessed to stabbing Khanam, who was rushed to a borough hospital where she was pronounced dead.

Galvez-Marin was apprehended three days later by NYPD detectives, Brown noted, near the Normal Road crime scene as they conducted their investigation.

The murder comes less than three weeks after a Bangladeshi imam and his assistant were gunned down in broad daylight on Liberty Avenue in Ozone Park. An arrest has been made in that case as well.

“Sadly, the Bangladeshi community once again finds itself having to deal with the senseless murder of one of its own,” Brown said. “The individual who attempted to rob and attack this defenseless wife and mother as she walked down the street has now been apprehended and will be vigorously prosecuted for this unprovoked and heinous attack.”

U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing) thanked the NYPD for the quick arrest, adding, “The stabbing death of Nazma Khanam is horrifying, disgusting and all New Yorkers must condemn this heinous crime. It is outrageous and unacceptable that another member of the Queens Muslim community has been murdered, just three weeks after an imam and his assistant were shot to death in the borough.

The coward who committed this despicable crime must and will face justice. The Khanam family remains in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time, and we continue to stand with the Bangladeshi and Muslim community. This senseless violence has got to end!”

Borough President Melinda Katz said, in part, “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Nazma Khanam, who was senselessly murdered on Wednesday while she was walking home on Normal Road in Jamaica Hills while wearing traditional Muslim dress. The aunt of an NYPD officer, Mrs. Khanam was a dedicated schoolteacher in her native Bangladesh and continued to work hard at the Jamaica souvenir shop she operated with her husband.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

The Queens Library this week unveiled the new location for its Archives and launched the Digital Archives website that pledges online access to more than 12,000 items from the QL collection.

The Archives has moved down to the lower level of the Central Library in Jamaica from its second-floor space. On Tuesday morning, Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott, elected officials, library staff, Queens historians and members of the community toured the new location, which features climate-controlled storage to better preserve the thousands of valuable items that document the social, economic, and political history of the four counties on Long Island: Kings, Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk.

“These archives…are an opportunity to learn from the contributions of others,” said City Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans).

The Library describes its Digital Archives as “the online repository” for selected maps, photographs, manuscripts, newspapers and books documenting Queens, Brooklyn and greater Long Island (Nassau and Suffolk counties).

“The site is constantly growing to provide researchers from around the world with expanded and enhanced access to the Library’s local history collections,” according to QL.

For example, Forum staff browsed the Newspapers and Periodicals collection (naturally). Almost immediately we were afforded access to editions of the Corona/East Elmhurst Transition Press from the 1970s, issues of The Wave of Long Island from the late 19^th Century.

“There are so many people in Queens with so many personal stories, and journeys,” added State Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans).

Also at digitalarchives.queenslibrary.org is a link to the Queens Memory Project: a collaboration of the Archives at Queens Library and Queens College Libraries’ Department of Special Collections and Archives. Among QMP’s goals are “to record borough history as it happens and empower residents from all ethnicities and walks of life to document their lives in the borough.”

The Project combines historical and contemporary photography, maps, news clippings, and other documents with oral history interviews of current “World’s Borough” tenants. The Memory Team needs you to help create and maintain the projects digital archives by contributing memories, photos and stories.

According to the Library, project coordinators want to know about your life in Queens now and in years past, so it can be documented and preserved for future generations. Did you emigrate from another country? What did you experience? Do you have photos of your neighborhood from years ago? What was your school or your children’s school like?

Library customers are invited to bring in their family photos, documents and other memorabilia. Staff will digitize the materials on-site and return them the same day. Customers with receive a free flash drive containing the digital copies of their materials. The scanned images become part of the Queens Memory website and will be shared with the Digital Public Library of America.

“Many items that can help add to the history of Queens are sitting in closets and basements all over our borough,” said Joanne King, recently retired director of Communications at the Library.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

“It’s really an honor…a real distinction.”

MediSys Health Network Vice President Angelo Canedo, Ph.D., beamed with palpable pride last Friday morning as he described the significance of blemish-free verification as a Level I Trauma Center.

“It means that we can truly serve our community with the best of trauma care,” Canedo continued. “That’s our honor and privilege.”

Canedo was joined by Bruce Flanz, president and CEO of MediSys Health Network and JHMC, and the hospital’s trauma care team in announcing that JHMC received a perfect score on its trauma verification survey conducted by the American College of Surgeons. The accredited organization of experts in the trauma field reviewed Jamaica’s capabilities through an intense three-year audit, and verified that it meets the standards for Level I Trauma status – without a single deficiency.

“It’s the highest order of trauma center,” Canedo said. “It means that you should be able to handle the simplest and most complex of cases. Officer Healey was certainly a complex case.”

Canedo referred to NYPD Officer Kenneth Healey, who helped JHMC mark the occasion last Friday. Healey shared his own harrowing experience and detailed how Jamaica’s Trauma Service saved his life.

On Oct. 23, 2014, Healey and three fellow uniformed police officers – Joseph Meeker, Taylor Kraft, and Peter Rivera – were on a foot post on Jamaica Avenue near 162^nd Street around 2 p.m. when they were approached by a freelance photographer who asked them to pose for a picture. As the officers obliged, a man identified as Zale Thompson, 32, charged at them with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, Thompson then swung the hatchet at Meeker, striking his right arm. Thompson, who later was characterized by Bratton as a “self-radicalized” Muslim, continued swinging the hatchet, striking Healey in his head, causing him to fall to the ground.

As Thompson continued his assault, Bratton said, Kraft and Rivera opened fire, killing him. Healey’s brothers in blue lifted him into a police vehicle and rushed him to nearby Jamaica Hospital, where he “received life-saving treatment from the Trauma Team” and remained in critical condition for days.

Healey survived his wounds and made it all the way back to the job last December. On NYPD Medal Day, he received the Medal of Honor, and his former 103^rd Precinct colleagues Joseph Meeker, Taylor Kraft, and Peter Rivera earned the Combat Cross.

Jamaica has been a State-Designated Level 1 Trauma Center each year since 1987. According to JHMC, Healey is just one example of the more than 1,700 patients its Trauma Service treats annually, making it one of the busiest in the New York-Metropolitan Area.

Canedo told The Forum that JHMC definitely will rely on the new national trauma distinction when it applies for federal funding down the road. However, for now, it seems that Canedo and his colleagues are savoring a certain perfect score.

“It is, in our opinion, in our DNA,” Canedo said. “Our whole hospital responds to trauma.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

Six men, including five borough residents, last week were indicted on charges of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, sex trafficking of minors, and conspiracy to travel in interstate commerce and use facilities in interstate commerce to promote sex trafficking, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.

The indictment charging Nashean Folds, David Hightower, Gregory Luck, Tremain Moore, Corey Roper, and Antwone Washington was unsealed last Thursday morning. Roper is also charged with kidnapping a female victim in or about February 2016.

Folds, 20, is from Staten Island; Luck, 20, Washington, 24, Roper, 24, Hightower, 23, and Moore, 22, are all from Queens. Hightower and Moore were arrested on June 13, pursuant to a criminal complaint containing related charges and have been in federal custody since that time, Bharara said. Luck, Folds, and Roper were arrested last Wednesday. Washington remains at large.

According to the indictment, beginning in or about February 2015 through the present, each of the suspects agreed to engage in sex trafficking of minor female victims, and actually did traffic at least four minor female victims in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, and also agreed to travel in interstate commerce and use facilities of interstate commerce to promote their sex trafficking activities.

“The six defendants in this case allegedly trafficked minors for the purpose of using them as sex workers,” Bharara said. “The defendants’ alleged crime is particularly insidious in that they selected the victims specifically because of their vulnerable nature and their inability to fend for themselves. This office, along with our law enforcement partners at the FBI and NYPD, will continue to find, investigate and prosecute those engaged in sex trafficking.”

As explained in the complaint, Bharara noted, sex traffickers like the defendants typically recruit vulnerable minor victims who lack education, a stable home, family support, and who have suffered past physical and emotional trauma. Sex traffickers often use their minor victims’ need for shelter, stability, and affection as a means to sexually exploit their victims for their own financial gain. Similarly, such sex traffickers or pimps often prey on young adult women who suffer many of the same vulnerabilities. Once these sex traffickers have recruited victims, they advertise them on websites dedicated to “escort” services and on classifieds websites. To evade detection by law enforcement, advertisements are posted in the adult entertainment section of the website and purport to offer individuals as mere escorts, but the advertisements signal that they are, in fact, offering individuals for sale for commercial sex acts.

It is also common for domestic sex traffickers to set rules for their victims, control their actions, and take their earnings, Bharara added. Often, if a victim violates one of the rules set by a sex trafficker, punishment is meted out in the form of physical violence. A violation of the rules could include, among other things, failing to answer the trafficker’s phone calls, leaving the area where the victim is supposed to be soliciting or servicing customers, not making enough money for the day, or holding back money from the sex trafficker.

If convicted, all of the suspects face a maximum term of life in prison.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The State Department of Environmental Conservation last week launched its Operation ECO-Quality initiative in south Queens by conducting a diesel truck pollution prevention pullover, during which Environmental Conservation Officers inspected trucks for compliance with clean air regulations and applicable vehicle and traffic laws.

Organized by the DEC Office of Environmental Justice, Operation ECO-Quality targeted trucks on Rockaway Boulevard and Baisley Boulevard, focusing on preventing pollution and encouraging compliance with environmental laws to help protect environmental health and improve quality of life in low-income and minority communities.

ECO-Quality features a three-pronged approach: outreach, consultation, and compliance.

During this one-time truck pullover in Jamaica, officers issue tickets for violations such as emitting smoke with an opacity that exceeds standards, not having functioning emission control apparatus, or not having an up-to- date emissions inspection.

The next phase of the operation, according to DEC, will focus on dry cleaning, auto body, auto salvage, auto repair, and cement manufacturing businesses in the Jamaica area. Agency staff visiting these facilities will work to promote greater compliance with a range of applicable environmental laws and regulations that govern the storage and handling of petroleum and other hazardous chemicals, air pollution, battery and used oil recycling and water pollution. During these assessment visits, staff will point out existing violations to facility managers, business owners and employees, and determine an appropriate course of action to ensure compliance.

DEC representatives return for an unannounced, follow-up visit to ensure that facilities have fixed any outstanding problems. If concerns still exist, written warnings or formal violations may be issued, paying particular attention to facilities within 500 feet of sensitive land use areas such as schools, playgrounds or hospitals.

According to the agency, Operation ECO-Quality builds upon the success of the 2008 Stop Smoking Trucks and Idling Vehicles Program DEC launched in New York City as a response to high asthma rates. DEC characterized it as an expansion of a proactive response to an existing public health problem. Operation ECO-Quality began in September 2010 as a pilot program in three Westchester County communities: Peekskill, Yonkers and Mt. Vernon – all areas having potential environmental justice communities. In 2012, DEC expanded the program to four additional areas: Long Island, New York City, Albany, and Buffalo.

DEC created an environmental justice program in October 1999 after representatives, including residents from minority and low-income communities, were concerned about actual and potential adverse environmental impacts in their communities and looked to DEC for a transformation in its permit process to include them in a more meaningful way.

In addition to Operation ECO-Quality, the DEC Office of Environmental Justice offers Community Impact Grants to provide community-based organizations with funding for projects that address various environmental and public health concerns. The program has a particular focus on low-income and minority communities that have historically been burdened by environmental problems. Those environmental problems include a large number of regulated facilities; contaminated sites; noise, air and water pollution; health problems and lack of green space and waterfront access.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

Two donors, who wish to remain anonymous, recently presented a $50,000 challenge grant to the Boys & Girls Club of Metro Queens in Richmond Hill, the nonprofit announced this week.

The grant will match – dollar-for-dollar – all donations from new and existing supporters for the rest of the year, up to $50,000. The funds raised will be used to produce educational and recreational afterschool and summer programs, hire and train staff, and maintain the Atlantic Avenue facility.

“We are extremely grateful to these two anonymous donors for their generous investment and confidence in our organization,” said John DeCristoforo, chief executive officer of the BGCMQ. “These individuals recognize that the greatest asset of our community is our youth and we need to provide them with meaningful, positive opportunities so they can learn and grow into responsible adults.”

DeCristoforo added that the grant “could not have come at a better time as we recently experienced a significant loss in funding for our teen program. Since every donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar, no gift is too big or too small to make a meaningful impact in the lives of the children we serve each day.”

The Richmond Hill club, which has been open since 1957, annually serves nearly 1,400 youth between the ages of 5 and 18 from Richmond Hill, South Richmond Hill, Ozone Park, South Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Jamaica, Howard Beach, Kew Gardens, and parts of Brooklyn.

“My hope is that this challenge grant will inspire other businesses and individuals in the community to support the Club and the great work it’s doing for at-risk youth in Queens and surrounding areas,” said one of the anonymous donors. “Places like the BGCMQ need our help because they serve as a beacon of hope in our community and improve the lives of our children.”

According to DeCristoforo, donations can be made online at metroqueens.org; by calling (718) 441- 6050 x 202; or by mail at BGCMQ 110-04 Atlantic Ave., South Richmond Hill, NY 11419.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Of the 1,257 newly minted Members of the Service who graduated last week from the Police Academy, 100 have been assigned to the various commands within Patrol Borough Queens South.

“You are coming along at an ideal time – a force that is succeeding more and more, innovating more and more, is proving its abilities more every day,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said to the probationary officers during the commencement ceremony at Madison Square Garden. “And you’re going to be change agents. You’re going to be the next generation that makes us better, that bonds police and community in a way we’ve never seen before. You are going to be part of that generation that will look back on in years and say, we’re the generation who brought policing to the next level.”

Police Commissioner Bill Bratton added, “We have sought to do everything in our power to improve your training.”

The rookies now find themselves part of that successful, innovative police force to which de Blasio referred in his remarks. And for Bratton, the cornerstone of that force is Neighborhood Policing.

Rolled out in December 2015, the Neighborhood Policing Plan, now in 31 commands, is designed to greatly increase the cop/community connectivity without in any way diminishing the NYPD’s crime-fighting capabilities.

“We want to police with the community, not at the community,” said Assistant Chief Terrence Monahan, one of the architects of the NPP.

The plan divides precincts into four or five fully staffed sectors that correspond, as much as possible, to the boundaries of actual existing neighborhoods. Sector officers assigned to these sectors work the same neighborhoods on the same shifts, increasing their familiarity with the local residents and local problems. The radio dispatchers, supervisors, and sector officers work together to maintain “sector integrity,” meaning that the sector officers and sector cars do not leave the boundaries of their assigned sectors, except in genuine emergencies. The plan seeks to foster a sense of ownership among sector officers for the people, the problems, and even the perpetrators in a particular sector; a sense of geographic responsibility and accountability.

“It operationalizes community policing in a way that eluded previous models and reestablishes the primacy of patrol as the backbone of preventive policing,” Bratton said.

Eight precincts comprise PBQS, and its headquarters is the 107^th Precinct in Fresh Meadows. Assistant Chief David Barrere is the commanding officer.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz has allocated $3.64 million of her Fiscal Year 2017 discretionary money to fund capital projects at four of the City University of New York public institutions of higher learning in the World’s Borough: Queens College in Flushing, York College in Jamaica, Queensborough Community College in Bayside, and LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City.

This year’s $3.64 million allocation, Katz noted, comes on top of the $8.75 million previously allocated by the Borough President’s Office between Fiscal Years 2015 and 2016 toward CUNY capital projects.

“As the third-largest university system in the United States, CUNY offers a high-quality and remarkably affordable and competitive higher education that enables the pursuit of the American Dream,” Katz said. “CUNY has been a critical door to opportunities for millions of New Yorkers and their families, and here in Queens we’re proud to be home to some of the best of CUNY schools. This multi-million dollar allocation of public funding is a direct investment into the public colleges of our borough so that CUNY remains able to meet the educational needs of its hard-working students.”

The allocation breaks down like this:

• $1 million to fully fund the construction of recording studios for the new Music and Production Certificate program at Queens College. The money will provide multi-use facilities for classrooms, rehearsal and performance spaces, and laboratories for performers, composers and teachers. Additionally, Katz said, the project will provide the proper acoustical components – sound absorbers, diffusers and ceiling elements – creating spaces conducive to live musical performances and high-quality audio recordings. The studios also will be ideally suited for distance learning applications and webcasting for music students as well as for the college community. Anticipated completion: January 2019.
• $1 million toward the construction of the Center for Career and Employment Training at LaGuardia Community College. The facility, Katz said, will serve as a central location for all LaGuardia students to connect to a network of employers and have access to real-time labor market data. The Center will also offer students advisement and training. The total projected cost of the facility is $6 million, with $2 million possibly coming from the City Council, and $3 million from the State Legislature. Design to begin July 2017, with construction set to start January 2018. Anticipated completion: August 2018.
• $1 million toward creating a modern kitchen and dining hall at Queensborough Community College that will replace the college’s current undersized basement dining hall. The allocation is toward the balance of City funding needed for Phase 2 based on current estimates, with $1 million possibly coming from Albany. Anticipated completion: March 2019.
• $640,000 toward renovating the greenhouse at York College.

“Queens Borough President Katz had provided critical and generous funding for CUNY projects that will enhance program quality, student experience and college value at Queens, York, LaGuardia and Queensborough Community colleges,” said CUNY Chancellor James Milliken. “I deeply appreciate her commitment to CUNY, which has such a positive impact on the borough and city.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

The acrid odor of spent gun powder filled the heavy, humid air, while muzzle smoke cast a pallid cloak over each county.

It was a wildly violent holiday weekend in the big city – a blood-and-bullets crime story featuring no less than a dozen shootings spanning each of the five boroughs, claiming one young life and injuring 16 others.

In Queens, the World’s Borough, six people were shot in three separate incidents. On Saturday night, around 11 p.m., a driver, 25, was shot twice in the arm by a man on a motorcycle on the Long Island Expressway in Maspeth.

On Sunday, around 10:45 p.m., three people were shot in a dispute in South Jamaica. Later that same night, two men were shot in Richmond Hill and rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

“A series of shootings across the city last night, including in my South Jamaica and Richmond Hill district, have bloodied a weekend in which we honor the sacrifices of our armed service members, and many families enjoy the start of summer. There is simply no justification for such senseless acts of violence, and they will not be tolerated,” said City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica). “Police Commissioner Bratton is to be commended for working with the City Council to implement policies that recognize each community’s identity, but more support is needed for proven violence prevention programs that help to establish stronger partnerships between the Department and local residents, deliver at-risk youths from the despair a life in poverty can bring, and encourage positive social development. June is Gun Violence Awareness Month in New York. I ask everyone to wear orange on June 2nd to show solidarity for nationwide efforts to promote unity and peaceful alternatives to resolving conflicts. Gun-violence has finally gained long deserved recognition as a public health crisis, and improving access to mental health services is equally essential to addressing its root causes. We must value our own lives in order to value the lives of others, and be accountable for the choices we make as individuals. My thoughts and prayers are with the victims of these terrible incidents. I wish them all a complete recovery.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

A Jamaica man with alleged gang ties has been indicted for the murder of an aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Micah Alleyne, 24, was remanded to Rikers Island after his arraignment last Friday. He was officially indicted on Tuesday in Brooklyn Criminal Court for the shooting death of Carey Gabay. If convicted, Alleyne, a native of Guyana, faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

Gabay, 43, was first deputy counsel for the Empire State Development Corporation. The Harvard Law alum was partaking in the J’Ouvert festivities with his brother in the early morning hours of Sept. 7, 2015, when a shootout between rival gangs erupted on the streets of Crown Heights. Gabay was struck in the head by a stray bullet and died in the hospital nine days later.

“Carey was the epitome of an outstanding public servant. He held a tremendous commitment to his community, and he chose to use his many talents to better the lives of others,” Cuomo said the day Gabay died. “New York is undeniably a better place today because of his service. He was also a friend and role model to the many people who were blessed to have known him, and he will be greatly missed.

“Today, the State of New York has lost one of its finest young men. I thank the doctors, nurses and medical professionals who did everything they could to care for Carey. I also am incredibly appreciative to the men and women of the NYPD who stood watch over Carey and his family day in and day out since his shooting.

“No one should have to experience the pain of losing someone they love to random gun violence, and his family is in our thoughts during this incredibly difficult time.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

An Ozone Park man who was convicted of attempting to murder an off-duty city police officer three years ago has essentially been sentenced to life in prison, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

The cop stepped in to help a woman and her 10-year-old son when they were being assaulted by the defendant, who was also convicted last month of stalking the woman, breaking into her home, and violating an order of protection.

Jose Bernazard, 42, was convicted last month of second-degree attempted murder, second- and third-degree assault, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, second-degree criminal contempt, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, second-degree criminal trespass, fourth-degree criminal mischief and first-degree stalking following a three-and-a-half-week trial. Bernazard was sentenced last Thursday to 59-1/3 to 66-1/3 years in prison.
According to trial testimony, Bernazard tried to get inside the Jamaica home of Christina Rodriguez at approximately 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2013 – Father’s Day. When Rodriguez refused to let him in, Bernazard climbed in through an open window and, once inside, he began to beat Rodriguez, as well as her 10-year-old son, who managed to escape and yell for help.

Off-duty Police Officer Joseph Koch, 28, who was celebrating at a family member’s residence down the same block, went to Rodriguez’s aid. At the time, Koch had his police shield in plain view – clipped to his waistband. As Koch struggled with Bernazard, he grabbed Koch’s gun and fired once, striking Koch in the hand. Bernazard was also struck during the struggle. The two men, and Rodriguez and her son, were all taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center to be treated for injuries.

Brown said that Koch’s injury “was severe enough that the law enforcement officer was forced to give up the job of his dreams – being a New York City Police Officer.”

According to the stalking and harassment charges, Bernazard had stalked Rodriguez between Jan. 26, 2012, and June 16, 2013, during which time he assaulted Rodriguez on three separate occasions prior to the June 16, 2013, incident.  For instance, on the night of Jan. 26, 2012, Rodriguez was sleeping in her home when she heard a noise coming from the front door and awoke to find Bernazard on top of her. He then choked her and repeatedly punched her. Following his arrest and arraignment on assault and other charges, Bernazard was served with an order of protection to refrain from having any contact with Rodriguez.

Bernazard violated the protection order, Brown said, on March 23, 2012, and again on Dec. 15, 2012, by having contact with Rodriguez and physically assaulting her on both occasions. He also violated the order of protection on March 25, 2012, by communicating with her.

Brown called Bernazard “a clear danger to the woman he had briefly dated, her son and to the general public. This individual showed a total disregard for the judicial system. He broke into the home of his former girlfriend, assaulted both her and her young son and repeatedly ignored lawful mandates to stay away from her. And when he continued to harass and stalk her and a police officer intervened attempting to effect his arrest, the defendant shot him. In this case, a lengthy prison term was more than warranted and the defendant will likely spend the rest of his days behind bars.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Four Queens Library branches are now hosting opportunities to meet with a lawyer, free of charge, to find out how to apply for citizenship easily, and get free, confidential financial counseling, the Library announced last week. The sessions are part of the NYCitizenship program, and one of a few recent developments in the Library system.

NYCitizenship counseling confabs are by appointment only and held at Central Library, 89-11 Merrick Blvd. in Jamaica; Flushing Library, 41-17 Main St.; Jackson Heights Community Library, 35-51 81st St.; and Ridgewood Community Library, 20-12 Madison Street. To make an appointment, call 311 or (212) 514-4277.

NYCitizenship, according to the administration, is a collaborative effort by the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Big Apple’s three public library systems, city agencies, and philanthropic organizations that provides free information on applying for citizenship as well as legal assistance in completing applications, and financial education to help new citizens achieve sustainability.

In other Library news, it announced this week that, beginning this summer, it will pilot “digital wallpaper” in select partner locations such as hospital waiting rooms and family shelters. The digital wallpaper will help library card holders express-download digital content to their smart phones or tablets using either a Quick Response code or a shortened URL. Customers who do not have a library card can register for a free e-card online, on-the-spot, the Library said.

While the system’s full Virtual Library will be available at each location, the digital wallpaper will emphasize content that is most needed at that location. For instance, children’s books will be promoted in a location with a lot of children. Material will be available in languages other than English, as well. The downloads will work via a Wi-Fi network, so in most cases, customers will not incur data charges.

Additionally, Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott last Thursday testified before the City Council Committee on Finance, jointly with the Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries and International Intergroup Relations, jointly with the Subcommittee on Libraries.
“In the six months since Queens Library implemented six-day service across the borough, more than 765,000 New Yorkers have visited the library on Saturdays,” Walcott said in a statement following the hearing. “Think about that – 765,000 in only six months and just on Saturdays. Those library visits are more than mere strolls in the neighborhood. They are people who are realizing more of their potential using library resources, whether it is to educate their children through early childhood literacy classes, or to learn a new job skill for themselves – they are all moving their lives forward. I am here today to tell you how much more we can do for the people of New York City should an additional $22 million – in addition to the FY 16 allocation – be invested in New York City libraries.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

The Queens Library this week made three executive appointments.

Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott on Monday announced that Nicolas Buron has been selected to be chief librarian and senior vice president; Kelvin Watson has been appointed chief operating officer and senior vice president; and Gitte Peng has joined the organization as chief of staff and senior vice president.

Buron has been with the Library since 1993 – first as a librarian, then library manager. He most recently served as vice president of Public Library Services. In addition, Buron has been active with the American Library Association and has served as a councilor and member of the Board of the Young Adult Library Services Association.
Prior to his appointment as COO, Watson served as the Library’s vice president/chief Information and Technology officer. He joined the Library four years ago as director of E-Services and Strategy. Watson is president of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association.  He serves on the State Regents Advisory Council on Libraries and the Metropolitan New York Library Council Board. Watson also is a lecturer at Queens College’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science. Prior professional affiliations include the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Borders, The Library Corporation and Ingram Book Company.
Peng previously served as senior education policy advisor for the Mayor’s Office during the Bloomberg administration, where she counseled Mayor Michael Bloomberg on all issues of education policy and school reform. She played a lead role in crafting and implementing historic school governance reform legislation establishing Mayoral Control of the city’s public schools as well as developing and overseeing the educational vision, strategies, and initiatives throughout the system. Peng has also worked at the City Board of Education and the National Urban League. She is a graduate of Yale College and Yale Law School and an independent documentary filmmaker. Peng’s “I Learn America” documentary chronicled the lives of five immigrant teenagers over a year at the International High School at Lafayette in Brooklyn.

“Queens Library’s mission is pivotal to the educational and cultural profile of the borough. These talented individuals will help me continue the great work that Queens Library does, and propel it into a solid future,” Walcott said.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Police last week reached out to the public for help in tracking down a dangerous duo they believe are responsible for a spate of more than a dozen gunpoint robberies over the past five weeks in Richmond Hill, Jamaica, and other borough communities.

Cops described the assailants as two black men in their 20s wearing hooded sweatshirts. In each of the 14 incidents, the suspects approach the victims—many of whom were passengers who just exited taxis or livery cabs—on the street, pull out a gun, demand money and valuables, then flee on foot with the fast cash, credit cards, and cell phones.

And the assaults have proven lucrative.

In the most recent robbery on record, on Monday, April 11, around 1:15 a.m., the perpetrators pounced on a 43-year-old man on 97^th Avenue in South Richmond Hill, making off with $1,100 in cash, a phone, and credit cards.

On Thursday, March 10, at approximately 5:15 a.m., the pair pillaged a 22-year-old man’s pockets, fleeing with $1,000, two phones, and credit cards.

Less than a week later, on Wednesday, March 16, around 2 a.m., the duo took $700 cash, a phone, and credit cards off a 40-year-old man at the intersection of 118^th Street and 89^th Avenue in Richmond Hill.

Five of the attacks occurred within the confines of the 102^nd Precinct. The rest were spread out over the 103, 105, and 107. All 14 victims are men ranging in age from 22 to 58.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit info by logging onto NYPDCrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All correspondences are strictly confidential.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

An Ozone Park man has been convicted of the Father’s Day 2013 attempted murder of an off-duty city police officer who had rushed to aid the man’s ex-girlfriend and her son – both of whom the defendant was violently assaulting, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Jose Bernazard, 42, was found guilty on Monday of second-degree attempted murder, second- and third-degree assault, first-degree attempted assault, first-degree burglary, aggravated criminal contempt, second-degree criminal contempt, criminal obstruction of breathing or blood circulation, second-degree criminal trespass, fourth-degree criminal mischief and first-degree stalking following a three-and-a-half week jury trial.

Bernazard has been held without bail since his hospital arraignment in June 2013. Sentencing has been scheduled for May 3.

According to trial testimony, Bernazard tried to get inside the South Jamaica residence of his former flame, Christina Rodriguez, at approximately 10 p.m. on Sunday, June 16, 2013. When Rodriguez, 34, refused to let him in, Bernazard then climbed through an open window and, once inside, he began to beat her and her 10-year-old son, Jacob.

Alerted to a woman screaming and Jacob hollering “He’s going to kill my mother!” off-duty Police Officer Joseph Koch, 28, who was at his own family’s barbecue that night on the same block, sprang into action.  As he entered Rodriguez’s South Road home, Koch identified himself as an officer, had his NYPD shield in plain view clipped to his waistband, and his gun drawn. Bernazard immediately attacked Koch, grabbing the officer’s gun and firing a round, striking Koch in the left hand. Bernazard also suffered a gunshot wound in the struggle. The two men, and Chrissy Rodriguez and her son, were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center and treated for their injuries.

The bullet from Koch’s 9mm Glock 26 ripped through his hand, shattering bones and requiring surgeries. The injury was so severe that it cut short his cop career.

Brown hailed the hero for his off-duty actions, adhering “to his oath to serve and protect the public by immediately going to [Rodriguez’s] aid.”

Bernazard was also convicted of stalking Rodriguez for 18 months, breaking into her home, violating an order of protection to stay away from her, and assaulting her on three prior occasions.

“By its verdict, the jury found that the defendant had exhibited a total disregard for the judicial system and the law by breaking into the home of his former girlfriend, assaulting her and her child, repeatedly ignoring a lawful mandate to stay away from her and with shooting a police officer attempting to effect his arrest,” Brown noted. “His actions clearly show that he is a threat to society and that a lengthy prison term is warranted.”

Bernazard is facing up to 50 years to life in prison.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

A state appellate court last week affirmed the 2011 convictions of three members of a Richmond Hill family who were found guilty of defrauding 19 people out of more than $1.8 million by promising to assist them in obtaining “federally seized” properties in Florida and Queens at cheap prices, or to assist them in gaining legal status in the United States, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

The Appellate Division, Second Department, in a unanimous decision handed down last Wednesday, rejected the argument put forward by the attorneys for Shane Ramsundar, 56, his wife, Gomatee Ramsundar, 52, and their daughter, Shantal Ramsundar, 29, that the guilty verdicts were against the weight of the evidence, and that they were denied their constitutional right to present a defense. While the court determined that the sentences and restitution imposed on the husband and wife were not excessive, it did, however, reduce the daughter’s sentence from an aggregate term of imprisonment of 10 to 20 years in prison to an aggregate term of 6 to 18 years and reduced her fine from $182,180 to $5,000.

The Ramsundars were convicted in November 2011 of second- and third-degree grand larceny, first- and second-degree money laundering, first-degree criminal impersonation and first-degree scheme to defraud following a nearly three-month jury trial.

In January 2012, Shane Ramsundar was sentenced to 78 ⅓ to 235 years in prison and ordered to make $1.8 million in restitution; Gomatee Ramsundar was sentenced to 51 to 153 years in prison and fined a total of $221,090. The couple’s prison sentences were each later modified to 10 to 20 years.

According to trial testimony, the three Ramsundars promoted Shane as a federal agent – complete with a real-looking gun, a badge and false ID card – and a deeply religious Pandit who could obtain cheap government-seized real estate properties in Florida and the Ozone Park/Richmond Hill/Jamaica areas of Queens. In particular, the two elder Ramsundars claimed that the government allowed their special agents first option to buy the properties seized from tax evaders and drug dealers cheaply prior to their public auction. Shane Ramsundar then told his victims that he would purchase properties and obtain mortgages for them with his special government connections and then transfer the deeds over to them and they could live in the residences or re-sell them at great profit.

Checks were laundered through 11 different bank accounts – eight belonging to Shantal Ramsundar and three belonging to the family’s race car repair company, Baba Boost Racing, Inc., of Long Island City, of which Shantal Ramsundar was the president and Gomatee Ramsundar was the manager.  In total, the Ramsundars received more than $1.5 million from 11 victims.

For the immigration portion of their plan, Shane Ramsundar again posed as a federal agent and convinced victims that he could use his insider access to get people green cards, have them removed from deportation schedules, and even get them off “terrorist watch lists” in exchange for sums of money. Gomatee Ramsundar aided her husband by convincing some of the victims that he could obtain the necessary immigration documents and was present when some of the victims turned over their money. Shantal Ramsundar also contributed to the scheme by proclaiming her father to be a Federal Bureau Investigation agent and by cashing checks and laundering substantial amounts of the proceeds through bank accounts in her name.

In total, the Ramsundars received more than $300,000 from 12 victims, some of whom were additionally victimized in the real-estate scheme.

“This case served as one of the initial reasons why my office saw the need to establish an Office of Immigrant Affairs,” Brown noted. “In carrying out their scheme, this family deviously took advantage of their fellow immigrants who were seeking the American Dream by falsely holding the father out as a federal agent and as a devoutly religious Pandit. The damage caused by the defendants was severe and long lasting – in some instances plundering the life savings of people who placed their trust in them. The harm was not only financial but emotional, as well. As such, the Court’s decision is welcome news to the defendants’ many victims.”

By Forum Staff

Finance Committee Chairwomen Julissa Ferreras-Copeland (D-East Elmhurst) and the New York City Council recently approved a 90-day amnesty program to help relieve property owners from their outstanding Environmental Control Board judgments. A report released in November 2015 by the Department of Finance showed the City was owed $1.58 billion in unpaid ECB fines of which $386 million was interest, $709 million were penalty fees, and approximately 75 percent was more than two and a half years old.

“The goal of this amnesty program is not only to ensure faster resolution of ECB debt, but to give property owners and small businesses an opportunity to resolve their debt and prevent tougher enforcement,” said Ferreras-Copeland. “I thank Council Member Ben Kallos and my colleagues for their support in passing this bill. The Council’s Finance Committee will continue to track the Department of Finance’s effort and find new avenues for collecting the $1.58 billion it is owed.”

During the 90-day amnesty program, which will be administered by the DOF later this year, respondents who have default ECB judgments will be able to resolve their debt by paying the base penalty and have additional penalties and accrued interest waived.

Respondents who have judgments against them as a result of being found in violation after an ECB hearing would be able to resolve their debt by paying 75 percent of the imposed penalty and have the accrued interest waived. In addition, respondents with conditions to correct will be allowed six months to comply.

The amnesty program will give property owners and small businesses an opportunity to pay before tougher enforcement is implemented, which may include income execution, wage garnishment, and sale of personal and real property.

In order to encourage greater participation, the program will be paired with an outreach plan targeting those areas with a high concentration of property owners with ECB judgments. Upon the conclusion of the 90-day program, the Department of Finance will no longer offer reductions to base penalties nor full waivers to penalties and interest.

“Local independent supermarkets play an active role in the small business economy and fill a necessary void in neighborhoods starved of healthy food options,” said National Supermarket Association President Rudy Fuertes. “Our members need support and resources, not onerous fees and fines. We support any initiative that will curtail overhead and help our businesses grow and hire – and this legislation will accomplish exactly that. I’d like to thank Council Member Ferreras for her leadership on this issue and continued efforts supporting New York City’s vibrant small business community.”

Last year, in an effort to bring about more transparency in the ECB debt collection process, the Council passed Local Law 11 that required an annual report from the Department of Finance detailing the amount of outstanding ECB judgments and the success of DOF’s collection efforts. The Committee on Finance has since continued to work with the Department of Finance to help find new ways of recuperating some of the debt.