The three-alarm blaze broke out in the two-family home on 208th Street around 2:30 p.m.

By Michael V. Cusenza

A fast-moving fire on Sunday claimed the lives of five young people – including a 2-year-old and a 10-year-old – who were trapped inside a doomed Queens Village home with no smoke detectors.
The blaze broke out inside the home on 208th Street near 112th Avenue around 2:30 p.m. According to authorities, all five victims – Chayce Lipford, 2; Rashawn Matthews, 10; Jada Foxworth, 16; Melody Edwards, 17; and Destiny Dones, 20 – were already dead when firefighters removed them from the house.
“The firefighters ran in that house with all the smoke and flames,” a witness told the New York Daily News. “They were doing what they were supposed to do and I thought to myself, ‘These guys are so brave to do this.’”
Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “This is a very, very sad day for people here in Queens Village. I’ve talked to some of the folks on the block just now – incredibly difficult moment for people on this block to see a family literally destroyed before their very eyes. This is a very, very painful day.”
As of Wednesday, no cause of the fire had been made public. All five funerals for the victims are scheduled to take place on May 6.
“Five precious young lives are suddenly no longer with us, and their families and friends must now summon the courage to face this painful reality,” said City Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans). “As the details of this devastating event emerge, I encourage all of my constituents to, first and foremost, hug your loved ones a little tighter today, and then have a frank conversation with them about fire safety procedures. My office will work with the Fire Department and the Red Cross to share educational information to everyone in our district through door to door outreach, email and social media communications, and an upcoming community town hall.
“Lastly, I remain eternally grateful to our city’s emergency responders for their tireless efforts to keep our community safe. Their contributions literally mean the difference between life and death. Residents should take every opportunity to show their appreciation to these exceptional men and women.”

 The Howard Beach community on Sunday came together at the Ladder Co. 173/Engine Co. 331 firehouse on Cross Bay Boulevard for a vigil to recognize the solemn occasion.

By Michael V. Cusenza

The communities of Queens on Sunday observed the 15^th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States with solemn ceremonies in neighborhoods across the World’s Borough.

Residents of Howard Beach, Hamilton Beach, and Lindenwood on Sunday night gathered outside the Ladder Co. 173/Engine Co. 331 firehouse on Cross Bay Boulevard and 158^th Avenue for the annual Candlelight Memorial Ceremony organized by Frances Scarantino.

Earlier on Sunday, hundreds gathered at 9/11 Tribute Park on Beach 116^th Street and Beach Channel Drive to honor the 57 Rockaway Park residents who lost their lives in Downtown Manhattan 15 years ago.

“After 15 years since 9/11, laying this rose at the Rockaway memorial service never gets any easier!” said Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder (D-Howard Beach), a native and resident of Far Rockaway. “Truly emotional and beautiful service where we all show our strength, resilience and send a message to our heroes that we will never forget!!!”

Assemblyman Phil Goldfeder lays a single rose at the Rockaway Tribute Park mosaic during the Sept. 11 memorial ceremony.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz also laid a rose on the Tribute Park mosaic on Sunday.

“’Where were you when the world stopped turning on that September day?’” she wrote on Facebook. “Fifteen years later, commemorations across the borough still strong to memorialize those whose lives were taken, to honor their survivors, and to remember those still fighting illness due to their selfless, heroic efforts. #QueensNeverForgets.”

Workers last week celebrated the new deal at Vireo’s medical marijuana cultivation and manufacturing facility in Tryon Technology Park.

By Forum Staff

 Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, UFCW, and Vireo Health New York recently announced that they have reached a labor agreement – the first union contract in the history of New York State’s new medical cannabis industry.

The agreement, according to Vireo, covers current and future employees at its cultivation and manufacturing facility in Fulton County’s Tryon Technology Park, and at all four of its dispensaries in Albany, Binghamton, White Plains, and on Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst. The contract provides a living wage with guaranteed raises, paid time off, healthcare coverage and retirement benefits.

“The strong union contract approved by the workers at Vireo will ensure that they have secure, middle class jobs so that they can provide for themselves and their families,” said John Durso, president of Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW. “The workers in this industry are incredibly dedicated to the patients they serve. This agreement provides the peace of mind that will allow them to focus on what matters most: helping those who are suffering and creating quality medicine.”

Local 338 RWDSU/UFCW also represents approximately 16,000 workers based in New York who are employed in retail drug stores and pharmacies, food and grocery retail stores, assisted living facilities and non-profit agencies that serve the developmentally disabled. Local 338 actively partnered with patients, advocates, and elected officials to help pass the Compassionate Care Act in 2014.

Vireo Health, LLC, the parent company of Vireo Health of New York, operates subsidiaries in Minnesota and Maryland and is the only medical cannabis company in the country to have partnered with labor in three states.

“I am happy to learn of the labor agreement struck with Vireo Health of New York, Local 338 of the Retail, Wholesale, Department Store Union, United Food and Commercial Workers,” said State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky (D-Flushing). “Securing labor unions means those charged with helping provide relief to people with debilitating illnesses remain a thriving part of the middle class and raise their families with pride.”

State Sen. Diane Savino (D-Brooklyn and Staten Island) added, “I am very happy to see that Vireo and RWDSU have reached agreement on a fair contract for medical cannabis workers at Vireo’s production facility and dispensaries. We have always had two goals with the New York medical cannabis program: to provide effective medicine and relief for patients suffering from severe illnesses, and to create economic development and good paying jobs. With the news of the contract negotiated between Vireo and RWDSU and the expansion of the medical cannabis program announced by the Department of Health last week, we have moved tremendously closer to accomplishing both of those goals. I salute Vireo and RWDSU for negotiating this contract. I hope the other four medical cannabis companies in New York will soon follow.”

Vireo opened the borough’s first medical marijuana dispensary at 89-55 Queens Blvd. in Elmhurst in January. Vireo is one of five companies to be awarded a license to manufacture and provide pharmaceutical-grade cannabis-based medications in the state. Bloomfield Industries runs the city’s only medical marijuana production facility in Long Island City.

 Wright allegedly shot Lameak Williams twice near this St. Albans intersection.

By Forum Staff

A Queens Village man has been charged with murder in the fatal shooting death of a 24-year-old Brooklyn man this past May 19. Following the shooting, the defendant allegedly purchased a ticket to the Caribbean and upon his return was apprehended at Kennedy Airport.

 “The defendant was identified by a witness in the shooting … earlier this year. This was a senseless killing before darkness set on a residential street in Queens. This brutal gun violence must end to keep everyone in our community safe. The defendant in this case has been apprehended and is facing a lengthy prison sentence,” said District Attorney Richard brown.

Dwayne Wright, 29, of 210 Place in Queens Village was arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with second-degree murder and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon. He was ordered to return to court on September 15, 2016.

According to the criminal charges, on May 19, 2016, near the intersection of 122 Avenue and Grayson Street in the St. Albans section of Queens, the defendant shot 24- year-old Lameak Williams at least two times. The victim was hit once in the torso and a second bullet pierced the man’s right leg. The victim was taken to a local hospital, but died the following day.

The DA’s office said that the defendant was apprehended at Kennedy Airport after disembarking from a flight which originated in Jamaica. Wright allegedly told police he bought the ticket to the Caribbean island the day after the shooting.

Wright, who is being held without bail, faces up to 25 years to life in prison if convicted.

 Investigators observed this St. Albans building’s cellar to be an unlawfully converted two-bedroom apartment.

By Forum Staff

 A Queens tenanat’s complaint phoned into the 311 system has landed a  New York City Housing Preservation and Development (“HPD”) inspector in hot water after he was charged with endangering the lives of tenants living in two unlawfully converted Queens dwellings he owns following the inspection triggered by the 311 complaint.

Residents were ordered vacated from the allegedly illegally occupied premises as a result of the dangerous situation that had been created in the cellar – including but not limited to a lack of adequate exits and inadequate natural light.

“According to the charges, as a code enforcement inspector himself, the defendant should have known better than to allegedly try and profit through the unlawful conversion of his properties into multi-dwellings,” said District Attorney Brown. “Such illegal housing puts a strain on local city services such as parking, transportation, waste disposal and schools. But most important, such conversions jeopardize the lives of not only the buildings’ residents but firefighters and other personnel who in responding to an emergency are confronted by a maze of rooms with no way out. Working with city agencies, including the Department of Investigation, I will continue to utilize the prosecutorial and investigative resources of my office to vigorously prosecute those who profit from such illegal housing.”

The defendant is identified as Derrick Allen, 58, of 255 Street in Rosedale, Queens. Allen, who is a code enforcement housing inspector in Brooklyn and owns a second residence at 112-44 196^th Street in St. Albans, was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court on a complaint charging him with second-degree reckless endangerment and two violations of the City’s Administrative Code (unlawful acts and criminal fines and imprisonment). If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail.

Building Department records indicate that Allen’s 255^th  Street address is registered as a private two-family dwelling. This registration allows for two families to reside on the main and second floors and the cellar to be used for storage. On August 18, 2016, HPD received a complaint from one of the basement tenants who notified 311 that she had various maintenance conditions in her apartment at the 255^th  Street address.

In response, according to the criminal complaint, an HPD inspector conducted an inspection on August 26, 2016, and observed that the cellar had been illegally divided by drywall into four separate single room occupancies (“SRO”) with a kitchen and bathroom. The inspector also allegedly observed that an operable gas stove was connected but pulled away from the wall, a hole in the ground where a toilet fixture had been, and that the SROs did not have two means of egress. The inspector issued violations for the SROs for occupancy of the cellar in violation of the Certificate of Occupancy, inadequate means of egress, work without a permit and illegal gas and water lines. The inspector also affixed a vacate order to the cellar doors which gave notice to the cellar occupants that it was unsafe to live there, that they must leave the premises and that re-entry was illegal.

It is further alleged that in executing a search warrant on September 1, 2016, at Allen’s 196 residence – which he owns but does not reside in – a DOI investigator and City Buildings inspector observed the location’s cellar to be a two-bedroom apartment with only one means of egress, a gas stove which was hooked up and operable, and contained two bathrooms, each with a shower. The Buildings inspector issued violations for unlawful occupancy of the cellar in violation of the Certificate of Occupancy, illegal occupancy, work without a permit and illegal gas and water lines.

DOI Commissioner Peters said, “This City housing inspector should have enforced the law, instead he is charged with breaking it. The illegal basement rooms uncovered in this investigation included obstructed exits and other unsafe conditions unfit for anyone to reside. DOI worked with its law enforcement and City partners to get these tenants to safer locations and ensure that the building owner – a City employee – would be held to account.”

If convicted, he faces up to one year in jail.

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 Michael V. Cusenza

The City on Tuesday honored the finest of its Finest at One Police Plaza during the NYPD’S annual Medal Day ceremony.

Among the 54 cops to earn recognition from the department this year were several officers with ties to the World’s Borough.

Det. Brian Moore received the Medal of Honor. Moore, the son of a retired NYPD sergeant, was shot in the face in Springfield Gardens in May 2015 after asking a suspect what he was fidgeting with in his waistband. His family decided to take him off life support two days later.

During his five-year career, Moore, who worked out of the 105^th Precinct in Queens Village, was awarded two Excellent Police Duty Medals and two Meritorious Police Duty Medals for exceptional police duty. He made 160 arrests.

Det. Randolph Holder also earned the Medal of Honor. The Far Rockaway resident was gunned down last October while responding to a call of shots fired in East Harlem. Tyrone “Peanut” Howard, 30, a recidivist criminal with suspected gang ties, has been charged in the slaying. Holder, 33, a Guyanese immigrant with five years on the force, was mourned days after his murder at a candlelight vigil on Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill.

Police Officer Kenneth Healey received the Medal of Honor, and his former 103rd Precinct colleagues Joseph Meeker, Taylor Kraft, and Peter Rivera earned the Combat Cross. On Oct. 23, 2014, the four officers were on a foot post when they were approached by a freelance photographer who asked them to pose for a picture. As the cops were standing together, Zale Thompson, 32, charged at them with a hatchet in his hand. Unprovoked and not speaking a word, Thompson swung the hatchet at Meeker, striking his right arm. Thompson, who later was characterized by Bratton as a “self-radicalized” Muslim, continued swinging the weapon, striking Healey in his head, gravely injuring him.

As Thompson continued his assault, 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 Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition for days.

Healey survived his wounds and made it all the way back to the job. He is now assigned to the Technical Assistance & Response Unit.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Forum Staff

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz last week announced a $13 million allocation of her Fiscal Year 2017 discretionary capital funds to pay for expansions, renovations, and enhancements at several borough Library branches.

The funds are based on needs assessments and requests made by the Library, Katz said. The allocation includes:

• $3.5 million for an exterior expansion and $92,000 for security cameras at Queens Library at Baisley Park (this comes on top of a $3.5 million allocation in FY 2016 for interior renovations);
• $3 million for the expansion of Queens Library at East Elmhurst;
• $3 million for an interior expansion of Queens Library at South Hollis;
• $1.4 million for interior renovations at Queens Library of Bay Terrace (this comes on top of a $96,000 allocation in FY 2016 for security cameras);
• $600,000 for window and door replacements at Queens Library at Forest Hills;
• $500,000 for an HVAC upgrade at Queens Library of Pomonok;
• $400,000 for the initial outfitting at Queens Library of North Forest Park;
• $385,000 to install an exterior self check-in system at Queens Library of Queens Village;
• $97,000 for a security system upgrade at Queens Library of Laurelton.

“Borough President Katz has put time, energy and resources into insuring a strong library system to serve the educational and informational needs of the borough,” said Library President and CEO Dennis Walcott. “This capital funding will help us move key library projects forward, so the community has expanded, updated facilities for reading and learning. Queens Library joins the community in thanking the Borough President for her support.”

In FY2016, Katz allocated $14 million for Library capital improvements, including security cameras at the South Ozone Park and Woodhaven branches, and a roof replacement at the Ozone Park library.

“Queens Library’s locations serve as centers of lifelong learning and enrichment,” Katz said. “These are substantial investments for not only renovations, expansions and enhancements, but also for the families of Queens. These funds are designed to help Queens Library continue to be a first-class library system of learning, literacy and culture.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Mayor Bill de Blasio and Police Commissioner Bill Bratton this week hailed the $70 million Capital plan allocation to create a new 116^th Precinct to reduce response times and expand coverage for the growing neighborhoods of southeast Queens.

The new command will be crafted out of the southern portions of the existing 105th Precinct, and serve the communities of Laurelton, Rosedale, Brookville and Springfield Gardens. According to the administration, the precinct will address an increase in the area’s population and requests for law enforcement services, and help reduce response times.

Of the 77 precincts that cover the five boroughs, the 105 ranks 5th in both square mileage and population.

“The 105 Precinct is one of the largest in terms of geographical size. In recent years the department has established a local substation in order to facilitate police service and response in the southern section of the precinct,” Bratton said. “By creating a separate command within this area, the NYPD will be able to provide more localized service to the community.”

Earlier this year the department expanded the 105 Satellite by adding 18 officers and two sergeants, and expanding coverage to 24 hours a day.

The administration pledged to work with the local community and the NYPD to identify a site for the precinct. The location, along with other relevant factors, will determine the timeline for completion. During the site search the existing 105 Precinct Satellite will continue to support police services. Upon the selection and approval of a location, an analysis will be undertaken to determine the precinct’s borders. The analysis will study factors such as geography, population, 911/311 calls, crime and quality of life issues with the goal of increasing services while distributing workload as equitably as possible. In connection with this analysis, stakeholders – including residents and elected officials – will be consulted, de Blasio said.

People in this community worked for a long, long time for this change – 30 to 40 years, in fact. And it is a credit to them,” the mayor added on Tuesday at the 105^th Precinct stationhouse. “I always say that real change comes from the grassroots. It is a credit to them that they believed this could and should happen and this day has come.”

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown also praised the decision to bring a 17^th precinct to the World’s Borough.

“It will result in greater efficiency, bring our police officers closer to the communities that they are sworn to serve and better address community concerns,” Brown said. “I commend Mayor de Blasio and Commissioner Bratton for making it happen.”

It has been less than three years since the department last expanded its stable of commands. The 121^st Precinct on Staten Island became fully operational in July 2013.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

Business up front. Party in the back.

A joint federal, state, and city narcotics raid last week of a Queens Village tire shop resulted in the discovery of a manufacturing facility and more than 200 kilograms of synthetic marijuana, according to the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

According to the detention memorandum, a search warrant was executed last Wednesday night by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration’s New York Drug Enforcement Task Force at Excellent Tire Shop Services on Springfield Boulevard. As soon as they walked into the store the agents located approximately 170 kilos of suspected synthetic cannabinoids already packaged for immediate sale to customers. Concealed behind a tarp in the rear of the establishment was a narcotics manufacturing facility in which agents found “industrial quantities” of the chemicals used to create the highly potent artificial weed, scales, packaging materials, flavoring agents, as well as a large amount of processed cannabinoids that were not yet packaged for sale.

In total, at least 200 kilograms of suspected synthetic marijuana – with an estimated street value of at least $200,000 – were seized from the location.

“This makeshift synthetic cannabinoid lab, which operated out of sight in the rear of a tire shop, was used to produce this poison in the vicinity of several homes and businesses,” said city Police Commissioner Bill Bratton. “I commend the work of the Drug Enforcement Task Force and our FBI partners for seizing this drug before it reached the streets of New York.”

Queens Village resident Osvaldo Maria Vasquez was arrested at the site in connection with a previously-issued arrest warrant charging him with participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 2014 and 2015. He was arraigned last Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn federal court and as of Wednesday remained in custody.

State Police Superintendent Joseph D’Amico said, “The dangers of synthetic narcotics are well documented, with very serious health and public safety issues that have occurred because of the increase in use. With this bust, we have succeeded in taking a large quantity of synthetic drugs off the streets, and shutting down the lab where they were produced. The State Police is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to keep these hazardous substances out of our communities.”

Last October, Mayor Bill de Blasio on Tuesday signed into law a package of bills that increase the punishment for manufacturers and dealers of synthetic marijuana, or “K2.”

The three pieces of legislation are part of a multi-agency strategy that aims to reduce the presence and use of K2 by aggressively cracking down on suppliers while offering supportive services and treatment to users in need, according to the Mayor’s Office.

“With the signing of these bills, we will begin to choke off the K2 pipeline by imposing severe penalties on the operators of known synthetic marijuana distribution centers,” said City Councilman Ruben Wills (D-Jamaica), the prime sponsor of the new law that criminalizes the manufacture, possession with intent to sell, and sale of synthetic cannabinoids and synthetic phenethylamines; selling K2 is now a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $5,000 in fines.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

The 105^th Precinct Satellite has expanded – having added 18 officers and two sergeants—and is now providing 24-hour coverage for the residents of Rosedale and Laurelton, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Police Commissioner Bill Bratton, City Councilman Donovan Richards (D-Laurelton), and the precinct’s new commander, Deputy Inspector Jeff Schiff, fresh from a two-and-a-half year tour as the top cop at the 106th, announced last Friday.

“Our pleas for help have finally been answered as our communities and NYPD officers are finally getting the resources we have been calling for, year after year,” Richards said. “Thankfully, City Hall is listening and the voices of District 31 are being heard. These additional officers will be welcomed with open arms, and now the doors of this precinct won’t be closed during the hours when most crimes are committed. I’d like to thank Mayor de Blasio and the NYPD for working together to ensure that officers in Southeast Queens have all the tools needed to protect and serve to the best of their ability.”

Richards had been urging the administration and NYPD brass to pony up additional capital funds to create a new 116^th Precinct out of a southern swath of the sprawling 105^th. State Sen. James Sanders (D-South Ozone Park) said that although the community didn’t get exactly what it had been asking for, expanding the Satellite “is a step in the right direction.”

“The mayor and police commissioner deserve praise for addressing our community’s needs,” Sanders continued. “The current 105th Precinct covers an area half the size of Manhattan, and the people of Rosedale and Laurelton can rest easier thanks to this expansion.”

The 105th Precinct encompasses 12.7 square miles with 354 miles of roadways, including seven major highways, making it geographically the fourth largest precinct in the city, according to the department. In an effort to support this large area, the NYPD opened a part-time precinct satellite in 2007 to help serve certain communities in the command. The 105th Precinct Satellite previously operated between the hours of 7 a.m. and 11 p.m., it was converted to 24-hour operations last month. The new officers and sergeants are being moved from a previous assignment.

“The expanded coverage at the 105th Precinct Satellite site will create a full-time police substation in the southern area of the command,” Bratton added. “By providing a 24-hour presence, the community will enjoy the benefits of more locally available police resources.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

Barbara Clark, a borough assemblywoman who represented the 33rd District in Albany for nearly 30 years, died on Monday night on Long Island. She was 76.

The cause of death was not made public.

Clark, a Democrat and native of West Virginia, was first elected to the lower chamber in 1986, serving the eastern Queens communities of Bellerose, Cambria Heights, Hollis, Queens Village, St. Albans, and part of Floral Park. The deputy majority whip, Clark also was a member of the committees on Children and Families, Education, Health, Labor, Libraries and Education Technology, and Rules; and the Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic & Asian Legislative, and Women’s caucuses.

Clark was most passionate about education, specifically equity in funding and access to quality educational programs for all New York students. According to her office, she was instrumental in converting Andrew Jackson High School, which originally housed approximately 3,500 students, into four small magnet high schools.

Clark also was a primary sponsor of the 1996 New York City Governance Law, which mandated parental involvement in school policy decision-making. And she authored legislation to establish the age of 6 as the statutory age for full-time attendance in school.

Clark’s colleagues and contemporaries praised her for three decades of public service.

“These gray skies have created a very somber background for us in Southeast Queens today, as we remember the life and gift of our Assembly Woman Barbara M. Clark, who passed away last night,” City Councilman I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans) remarked on Tuesday. “For over a quarter century, she served in the Assembly as a staunch advocate for equity in funding for health and education, and as a fighter for the communities she represented with dedication and compassion. I consider Assemblywoman Clark my mentor, my colleague, and my friend, and I am absolutely devastated to learn of her transition. I ask that everyone keep her family in your thoughts and prayers during this difficult time.”

City Mayor Bill de Blasio said, “Today we mourn the loss of Assembly Member Barbara Clark, who served as Deputy Majority Whip and Chair for the Education Committee of the NYS Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus. As an Assembly Member, she put students and education first by fighting to properly fund New York State’s public schools and ensuring that all students had access to quality education – values that we uphold in our city and that are vital for our youth and communities as a whole. We have lost a great lawmaker in New York State, and I offer condolences to Assembly Member Clark’s family on behalf of my administration, her fellow Queens residents and all New Yorkers.”

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

Demetrius Blackwell, 35, has been charged with one count each of aggravated murder, second- and first-degree murder, attempted aggravated murder, second- and first-degree attempted murder, second- and third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, seventh-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, unlawful possession of marijuana, petit larceny, and fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Blackwell, who has been held without bail since his initial arrest on May 3, faces up to life in prison without the possibility of parole, if convicted.

According to the charges, Police Officer Brian Moore, 25, and his partner, Officer Erik Jansen, 30, who were assigned to the 105th Precinct Anti-Crime Unit, observed Blackwell adjusting his waistband on 104th Road around 6:15 p.m. on May 2. When the two officers rode alongside Blackwell to question him, he allegedly removed a gun from his waistband and fired a number of shots at the two officers who were still inside their police vehicle.

Moore was struck twice in the head and succumbed to his injuries two days later. Jansen was not struck.

Additionally, some time between firing the weapon and his apprehension, Blackwell allegedly stole a tee shirt and a pair of sneakers in an attempt to alter his appearance. At the time of his arrest, Blackwell allegedly possessed small amounts of cocaine and marijuana.

Brown called Blackwell’s alleged actions “a direct attack on society and the law and reminds us of the dangers that our police officers face each day—and the ultimate sacrifice they may be called upon to make—as they carry out their sworn duty to protect and serve our communities.”

Asked about his client’s current mental state, David Bart, Blackwell’s attorney, said he was not “at liberty to discuss any private interactions” with Blackwell.

“Things like his demeanor and such, to me, would be sacrosanct,” Bart said, adding that he has not begun to talk to Blackwell about any possible legal strategies.

By Michael V. Cusenza

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com