The two bumps will be placed on 98^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Park Lane South.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Could these long-awaited bumps in a Woodhaven road be headed for a mountain of trouble?

The City Department of Transportation this week began to prepare 98^th Street between Jamaica Avenue and Park Lane South for the installation of two raised speed reducers – speed bumps – and perhaps some well-earned peace of mind for the area residents that have been begging for the safety measures for nearly five years.

According to DOT, a raised speed reducer is a raised area of a roadway that deflects both the wheels and frame of a traversing vehicle with the purpose of reducing vehicle speeds.

But these southern borough bumps might not be ready for their close-up just yet.

Community Board 9 Member Alex Blenkinsopp on Tuesday noticed something strange about the designated positions of the speed bumps and made the City and Woodhaven residents aware through social media.

“Oddly, @NYC_DOT is placing 1 speed bump at very beginning of the block, & 1 at very end. A 1,000-foot straightaway separates them. Why?” Blenkinsopp asked.

DOT answered with a link that contained information on “speed reducer criteria & feasibility.”

“Doesn’t make sense to slow cars before they can pick up speed, & to hide a bump just beyond a curve after a long uninterrupted stretch,” Blenkinsopp said. “@NYC_DOT took YEARS to pick locations for these bumps & this was what they came up with? I don’t get it. Why not consult the residents?”

The agency has yet to respond to that last inquiry.

Blenkinsopp told The Forum on Wednesday that he’s already heard from multiple residents who are “scratching their heads” over the placement of the bumps.

“The first bump will be at the very beginning of the block, before cars can pick up any speed,” he noted. “AftАer that, there’s a very long, uninterrupted straightaway – no speed bump planned for this area. Then the road curves, and hidden right around that curve is the second planned speed bump.  Nearly 1,000 feet separate the two speed bumps.

“The long, uninterrupted stretch has been the primary concern of the block’s residents for years,” Blenkinsopp continued. “The anticipated locations of the speed bumps will do little to address that concern. 98^th Street would continue to bear an uncanny resemblance to a racetrack.

“Through Community Board 9, these concerns have been communicated to DOT. I hope they respond soon, and ideally change the planned locations for the bumps.

“DOT already postponed installation of these bumps once, supposedly due to an issue with the locations. They’ve had years to figure this out, and this was the best they could come up with? I know that there are a bunch of technical requirements governing where speed bumps can go, but why doesn’t DOT ask residents – those with the deepest knowledge of what would work and what wouldn’t – for input and help?”

By Michael V. Cusenza

Police have reached out to the public for help in identifying and locating the man they believe is responsible for a July car theft in Woodhaven.

According to investigators, on Monday, July 25, around 4:30 a.m., the suspect approached a 2014 Jeep parked inside a residential driveway on 79^th Street and, using a using a recently stolen key, got behind the wheel and sped off in it.

Courtesy of NYPD

Cops said the suspect is described as a white man wearing camouflage shorts and a grey T-shirt.

Anyone with information is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at (800) 577-TIPS (8477) or for Spanish, (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

A nascent coalition aligned with a long-standing Woodhaven civic organization last week unveiled a new website that, in part, will host a petition aimed at gathering support for opposition to the proposed Woodhaven-Cross Bay Corridor Select Bus Service Project.

The Boulevard Improvement Group, a coalition that grew out of the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association, introduced SaveOurStreets.NYC last Saturday at the civic’s monthly Town Hall.

“The City wants to ruin Woodhaven & Cross Bay Boulevards. You can help stop it. Sign the petition below,” BIG greets the visitor in bold block lettering on the SOS homepage.

It then lists the potential changes to the boulevards that the current Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority SBS plan would create, including the removal of two lanes of traffic from the Boulevard, 24/7, allowing only MTA buses to use those lanes; banning 19 left turns off the Boulevard onto major streets like Jamaica Avenue and Rockaway Boulevard, diverting traffic onto residential side streets; create bus stops on medians, forcing bus riders to wait in the middle of traffic; eliminating some local bus stops; and implementing these changes without thoroughly studying all the alternatives.

“These changes are unwanted, and they’re being forced on us by City Hall and by city agencies that have repeatedly failed our community,” BIG wrote on the homepage. “The only way to stop it is by telling DOT and MTA that we will not tolerate their Select Bus Service plan that would ruin Woodhaven & Cross Bay Boulevards. Send that message by signing this petition…”

The civic has indicated that in the months ahead it plans on making the petition a major priority to raise awareness of the SBS plan’s problems, and to gather signatures of support along the entire 14-mile corridor that stretches from Beach 96^th Street in Rockaway to 61^st Street in Woodside.

While most in attendance last Saturday seemed to be inspired and reinvigorated by the new site, some cynics called SBS a done deal, and that there’s nothing Joe Citizen can do to pump the brakes on the project. Civic leadership said that that’s just a way to get groups like the WRBA to cease opposition efforts; and that affected communities need to keep up the fight. They cited the online petition drive as a crucial way to do that.

If you do not have access to a computer, you can call BIG (at the WRBA office) at (718) 296-3735. If you get the voicemail, you should say you want to be a signatory of the petition against the SBS plan for the Boulevard. Clearly state your name, the spelling of your name, address, and phone number.

Or you can send a letter to BIG, indicating you want to be a signatory of the petition against the SBS plan for the Boulevard, and prove your full name, address, and phone number.

The letter can be mailed to:

Boulevard Improvement Group

c/o Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association

84-20 Jamaica Ave.

Woodhaven, NY 11421

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association last Saturday expressed frustration at what the group characterized as the continued lack of communication from the Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Volunteer Ambulance Corps regarding the Jamaica Avenue building the WRHVAC called home until three years ago, when the partial collapse of the neighboring building forced the Corps to close its doors.

City Department of Buildings Queens Community Liaison Kenneth Lazar updated the community on the condition of the affected edifice last Saturday at the civic’s monthly Town Hall. Lazar said additional citations for various violations have been issued recently to the owners of the building that once housed a furniture shop; and that the DOB is keeping tabs on the situation.

However, Lazar also noted that the agency can’t do much more than monitor until the building is deemed to be an “imminent danger to the public.” He acknowledged that while it lacks a proper roof at the moment, the building is not an impending threat.

Lazar also said the DOB can’t really provide assistance to the WRHVAC—it needs to take the proper action for their building. WRBA President Martin Colberg expressed frustration with the Corps because he feels that it seems intent on selling the building without answering any questions from the public and sans any accountability to the community.

Since the Corps announced in March 2014 that it had to suspend operations, community groups have organized several fundraisers—to no avail.

Colberg said he was concerned about the possibility of a secretive sale resulting in emergency medical resources being sent out of Woodhaven.

Kate Mooney, a representative from City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley’s (D-Glendale) office, said Catholic Charities had recently expressed interest in buying the building, but the Corps declined.

Catholic Charities Woodhaven-Richmond Hill Senior Center, which rented building space from the first responders, subsequently relocated after the fire and partial collapse, effectively cutting off a critical source of revenue for the WRHVAC.

The DOB had tried to demolish the building, but a Queens Supreme Court judge granted the owners a litany of construction extensions—placing the edifice, WRHVAC, and the communities that have depended on its care for half a century in limbo.

“This story has been one of failure on many levels,” WRBA Director Ed Wendell fumed a year ago.

“The city and that judge dropped the ball, and we pay the price,” State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) said on Saturday.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

By Michael V. Cusenza

Five days after the battered body of a 19-year-old woman was discovered in her Woodhaven apartment, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced that her alleged killer has been caught.

As of Wednesday evening, Fabian Maliza, 24, was awaiting arraignment on a criminal complaint charging him with second-degree murder in the death of Joceline Abigail Romo, his live-in girlfriend.

According to the criminal complaint, Maliza allegedly punched Romo in the face, head and body repeatedly inside their 86^th Street apartment on Jan. 1. He also allegedly applied pressure to Romo’s neck, which caused her to stop breathing and her heart to stop beating. Romo’s lifeless body was found face-down in her bed just before 11 p.m. that night.

It marked the five boroughs’ first homicide of 2016. The city’s final murder of 2015 also occurred in Queens.

“This is a truly troubling case. A young woman is dead and her live-in boyfriend now stands accused of killing her,” Brown said. “Domestic violence is one of the most primitive and savage crimes in our society. A woman should feel safe and secure at home, but this New Year’s Day – a holiday marking the start of a new year – instead marked the end for a young woman allegedly at the hands of the man who professed to love her.”

If convicted, Maliza—who, according to Brown, is currently hospitalized—faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in Woodhaven.

Revelers last weekend were treated to two annual traditions that signify the arrival of the holidays in the proud south Queens community: the lighting of the Forest Parkway Plaza Christmas tree on Friday night, and the Santa Parade along Jamaica Avenue the following afternoon.

The majestic Christmas tree at Forest Parkway Plaza near Jamaica Avenue is always a popular attraction for families.

Sponsored by the Woodhaven Business District and the Greater Woodhaven Development Corporation, the tree-lighting is more than a simple flip of a switch—it’s a neighborhood celebration, replete with caroling, characters, and the Clement Clarke Moore classic “Twas the Night before Christmas.”

And there was a palpable added appreciation of this year’s Santa Parade, as inclement weather forced the cancellation of the 2014 pageant.

“Holiday events in Woodhaven, such as the tree lighting or the Santa Parade, give the community a sense of continuity,” said Ed Wendell, president of the Woodhaven Cultural and Historical Society. “Parents are bringing themselves to events that they themselves attended as children. At the same time, it gives people who are new to our community the opportunity to gather and celebrate something special, yet new to them. These events really give off a nice small-town vibe, where neighbors know each other and greet each other warmly.”

By Michael V. Cusenza  michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

The latest endeavor of one area civic aims to benefit more than the Woodhaven community the organization serves.

On Saturday, July 25, the Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association will lead a cast of volunteers in painting every mailbox—more than 100 in all—in the neighborhood. Though the group spearheads beautification efforts throughout the year, most of the receptacles are marred by graffiti, garbage, and bird droppings.

According to WRBA President Martin Colberg, the civic will solicit pledges from residents to support the painting. All proceeds will be donated to New York Families for Autistic Children, an area nonprofit organization that works to enhance the lives of individuals diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. NYFAC’s Autism Center is on Cross Bay Boulevard in Howard Beach; and its Administrative Building is on Pitkin Avenue in Ozone Park.

“I have seen time and again how generous the people of Woodhaven are, and this clean-up fundraiser will prove once more that residents here care about both their neighborhood and assisting those who can use a helping hand,” said WRBA Director Edward K. Wendell.

Those interested in donating can make a pledge by sending an email to info@woodhaven-nyc.org, or at the next WRBA Town Hall on Saturday, July 18, at 10 a.m., at Emanuel United Church of Christ at 91st Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard. Donations can be made with cash, check, or via online method (email the WRBA for more information regarding this payment option.)

Interested in volunteering? Call or email the WRBA: (718) 296-3735; info@woodhaven-nyc.org.

By Michael V. Cusenza

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

The man, believed to be in his late 20s, collapsed in front of a deli on 85^th Street and Jamaica Avenue. While the victim allegedly refused to cooperate with investigators, witnesses said that he was shot several blocks away and ran to the store, where he was treated by emergency medical service staff and rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center.

The investigation is ongoing.

michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

Forum Photos by Robert Stridiron

Firefighters from Engine Co. 293 on Tuesday responded to the scene of a man hit by a car near the intersection of Eldert Lane and 88th Avenue in Woodhaven. Members stabilized the victim, who according to witnesses suffered a possible broken leg, until emergency medical service personnel arrived to take him to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center. The driver remained at the scene and was not arrested.

Eager athletes last Saturday hit the asphalt along Jamaica Avenue in Woodhaven for the annual WORKS Little League parade, which signals the beginning of the new season.

Photo Courtesy of the Wendells

State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) are bringing back the popular Recycling Day to Forest Park, Addabbo announced this week.

On Sunday, April 26, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., residents and business owners can bring items such as clothing, coats, bedding, linens, paired shoes, scarves, belts, hats, handbags, computers, monitors, cell phones, servers, fax machines, televisions, personal digital assistants, scanners, copiers, printers, batteries, laptops, cameras, power strips, wires, chargers, cable boxes, fans, air conditioners, telephones and VCR tapes to the George Seuffert, Sr. Bandshell Parking Lot on Forest Park Drive, one block west of Woodhaven Boulevard in Woodhaven.

Addabbo noted that this year’s recycling events are especially important following new e-waste regulations which prohibit city residents from disposing old electronics curbside. As of April 1, property owners can be fined $100 for placing items such as computers and old televisions at the curb for pick up.

By Forum Staff

The city DOT last week rolled out the design concept for Select Bus Service on the Woodhaven-Cross Bay corridor.

Photo: The city DOT last week rolled out the design concept for Select Bus Service on the Woodhaven-Cross Bay corridor.

The city Department of Transportation last week unveiled the design concept of main road bus lanes for Select Bus Service on Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards.

After DOT and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority developed three SBS concepts, they were presented to the affected communities over the course of a year through meetings, workshops and open houses. Design Concept 2, a “transit-oriented boulevard” where buses travel in designated lanes in the main roadway, was selected.

According to DOT, this concept provides faster and more reliable bus service, allowing buses to travel free from turning or parking conflicts, with an anticipated travel time savings of 25 to 35 percent. Median transit stations with shelters, seating, and real-time bus information will be constructed, giving passengers high-quality waiting areas. Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards are both identified as Priority Corridors in the DOT’s Pedestrian Safety Action Plans, with 24 fatalities since 2008 on the length of the SBS route, which is based on the existing Q52/53 Limited bus route and carries 30,000 daily bus riders over 14 miles from the Rockaways to Woodside.

Aligning with Vision Zero, this design will have new medians for pedestrian refuge and a greener streetscape, DOT officials noted. There will be a physical separation of local and thru traffic, allowing thru traffic to travel free from parking and turning conflicts and local traffic to travel through calmer service roads. The different designs for Woodhaven and Cross Bay boulevards, which will have offset bus lanes, reflect the different corridor widths, land uses and traffic patterns. Details of the design will be presented to the community for feedback at upcoming workshops.

“Select Bus Service on Woodhaven Boulevard will improve the flow of traffic on one of Queens’ busiest corridors and make the road safer for pedestrians and drivers alike,” said City Council Member Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park).

The project comes with a $200 million price tag. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), sent a letter last month to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, urging the U.S. DOT to accept the Woodhaven project into the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program, making it eligible for 50-percent federal funding.

However, Design Concept 2 has its detractors.

“The idea that NYC DOT, through their Select Bus Service proposal, is seeking to remove an entire traffic lane and in my opinion put pedestrians in harm’s way is irresponsible and unacceptable,” said state Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach.) “Rush hour traffic would suffer significantly, and as someone who sits almost daily on that roadway during those times, I shudder to think it could get any worse. While SBS has the potential to address many of the needs for public transportation and traffic conditions, this execution will not be effective for motorists, bus riders or pedestrians. Pedestrians, including school children, seniors and parents with strollers, are put at risk with essentially four active roadways to cross, one at each median. I hope to work with the NYC DOT on this matter and implement a smart, practical solution to benefit everyone riding and walking on the street.”

This spring, DOT will have block by block design workshops for the SBS route to get feedback on the design.

By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

City fire marshals last week arrested a suspect in connection with a four-alarm fire in Woodhaven on Wednesday night that destroyed eight homes, injured five civilians and killed two dogs.

Luis Lopez, 31, a tenant at 91-21 90th St., was arraigned last Friday evening and charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree arson, aggravated cruelty to animals and endangering the welfare of a child,according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown. Lopez remained in custody this week after bail was set at $50,000 cash, $100,000 bond.

“Setting a fire is a serious crime with potentially deadly consequences,” said Fire Commissioner Daniel Nigro. “Fortunately there was no loss of [human] life at this incident, but tragically the quick moving fire destroyed eight homes before being brought under control.”

According to sources and the criminal complaint, Lopez was told last Tuesday that he was to vacate the premises where he’d been living. About 10 minutes later, the owner and her boyfriend smelled smoke. When the couple attempted to get out of their basement apartment, the door was blocked from the other side. It took several attempts before the door opened and they fled. On the way out, the pair saw smoke and an orange glow emanating from the first floor bedroom where Lopez lived.

Fire marshals caught up to alleged arsonist Luis Lopez last Friday. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.

Approximately 39 units and 168 firefighters responded to the blaze that displaced more than 60 people. Four firefighters sustained non-life threatening injuries. Two dogs also perished in the fire.

“’He tried to kill me!’” the owner wailed in Spanish the following day as she and neighbors returned to 90^th Street to gather belongings and make temporary living arrangements. “’He locked me in the basement!”

A resident of the block who did not want their name published said that cops are familiar with the house in which the blaze started.

“I see police come many times to her home,” the neighbor said, describing the issues as domestic incidents involving significant others.

Citing evidence that the fire spread quickly to adjoining row houses through cocklofts—the space between the rafters and suspended ceiling—state Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach) last Friday called on his colleagues in the Legislature to approve a bill that was passed in the Senate last year that would eliminate cocklofts in aging row houses.

“Connected row houses are no longer built with cocklofts, partly due to their ability to allow flames to move quickly from building to building,” Addabbo noted. “Now, it’s time to protect our older buildings, historic marks of our neighborhood, by closing off these structures so this does not happen again. The frequency of these kinds of fires needs to be addressed.”

Additionally, Addabbo said his Middle Village (66-85 73^rd Pl.) and Howard Beach (159-53 102^nd St.) offices would be serving as drop-off sites for donations of clothing and other essential items.

Catholic Charities of Brooklyn and Queens, along with City Councilman Eric Ulrich (R-Ozone Park) and Assemblyman Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven) also announced last Friday the creation of a special relief fund to aid the families affected by fire.

According to CCBQ, donations will support the organization’s efforts to provide life essentials, including gift cards to local supermarkets, clothing, replacement household furniture, and other necessities. Monetary donations can be made payable to CCBQ online at ccbq.org; by phone at (888) 971-7122; or by mail to 191 Joralemon St., Brooklyn, NY 11201. Contributions should designate “Woodhaven Fire Victims” in the memo. For more information, contact CCBQ’s Office of Development & Communications at (718) 738-1083.

By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

If recent statements are any indication, the push to bring Bus Rapid Transit to the Cross Bay-Woodhaven Corridor seems to be gaining momentum.

Queens Borough President Melinda Katz and the Borough Board this week included the mass-transit project among its recommendations for adopted budget priorities that were submitted to the mayor and City Council.

And last Thursday, U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for up to $100 million in federal funding to help bring Bus Rapid Transit to Woodhaven Boulevard.

Known in New York as Select Bus Service, BRT has been billed by the city Department of Transportation and Metropolitan Transportation Authority as a cost-effective approach to transit service that cities use to make riding the bus more like a subway. BRT aims to improve speed, reliability, and passenger comfort and convenience. The DOT and MTA have implemented BRT routes throughout the city since 2008.

Schumer said that, in addition to improving bus service and dependability, the Woodhaven project would make the corridor safer for commuters from the Rockways to Howard Beach, and to Woodhaven and Woodside, noting that these neighborhoods have long suffered from a lack of adequate subway service.

“Of the more than 400,000 people living within a half-mile of the [Woodhaven BRT] project corridor, 60 percent of workers commute to work using public transit and 40 percent of the households do not have access to a vehicle,” Schumer said. “Every day, more than 31,000 people ride the bus along the corridor; however, their trips are often slow and challenging due to congestion and the lack of dedicated transit facilitates on the street. Additionally, the layout of the street makes the current system unsafe for pedestrians. Between 2008 and 2012 alone, there were over 3,000 injuries and 17 fatalities, 13 of which were pedestrians.”

In a letter to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, Schumer urged the U.S. DOT to accept the Woodhaven project into the Federal Transit Administration’s New Starts program, making it eligible for 50-percent federal funding. The city DOT has already applied to the program, with Schumer supporting the application. The Woodhaven BRT price tag is estimated to be in the $200 million range.

“The planned project will be New York City’s most ambitious SBS route to date,” Schumer said. “While final design has not yet been completed, the project is likely to include dedicated bus lanes, high-quality median bus stations, off-board fare collection, and pedestrian safety improvements, and will dramatically improve transit service along the corridor and quality of life of the nearby neighborhoods. The service will also provide an important connection to the Rockaways, which…have limited transit options.”

While final design has not yet been completed, the project is likely to include dedicated bus lanes, high-quality median bus stations, off-board fare collection, and pedestrian safety improvements.

Schumer added that the “Bus Rapid Transit plan can turn this corridor from a transportation desert to a transportation oasis for tens of thousands of Queens residents, and also be a boon for local property value and area businesses.”

By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

Cops this week were still investigating an incident in Equity Park in Woodhaven in which a 14-year-old boy was beaten with a baseball bat, according to police and a city parks activist.

The boy was jumped last Thursday evening inside the 91^st Street park by three other teens who fled on foot, said Geoffrey Croft in a Friday afternoon post on his A Walk in the Park blog.

The victim was rushed to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with head injuries.

The assailants are described as Hispanic boys, 14 and 15 years old, between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-7.

In recent Participatory Budgeting sessions in Woodhaven with City Councilman Eric Ulrich’s (R-Ozone Park) office, civic leaders have called for safety improvements at the 1.6-acre park.

By Michael V. Cusenza michael@theforumnewsgroup.com

Tattoo artist Rich Fie is representing south Queens in a Manhattan gallery show called “Paint and Punk Rock,” on display through April 9. Forum Photo by Eugénie Bisulco.

A few short years ago, Rich Fie, 39, a native of Woodhaven, was working at Verizon.  It was in his free time that he began to be interested in art, simply by hanging out with friends who had tattoos and followed punk rock culture.  A self-taught artist who began his own exploration into the culture mainly by observation, his doodlings began to be noticed among his punk rock friends.  Soon he was creating flyers for their bands and had secured an apprenticeship at a local tattoo parlor.

Fie, who lives in Ozone Park, talks about his love for “outlaw” or underground art.  In the tattoo world, these “underground” images are somewhat standardized, many having existed since World War II.  It’s then up to tattoo artists to both modernize and individualize them.  During Fie’s one-year apprenticeship at R & D Tattooing of Ridgewood, he was primarily working with traditional, standard designs.

“I tattooed all my punk rock friends,” he explained. “They were my guinea pigs.”

A lot of those friends, along with his former boss at R & D, joined Fie and fellow tattoo artist Ron Bianco last week for the opening of “Paint and Punk Rock,” a showcase of their work at Art on A Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side.  The gallery was packed to the gills with a diverse crowd – no set age or tattoo preference visible – of visitors from Queens, Manhattan, and even the far reaches of Jersey.

Rory Sutherland, 35, of Hackensack, who mentioned a large wasp tattoo covering his entire back, had heard about the show through Facebook.  He brought his friend Stephanie, also a tattoo aficionado, from West Milford.

“The colors seem more vivid on paper,” Sutherland said. “A mermaid caught my eye.”

The colorful tattoo world that Fie and Bianco managed to create for the gallery show could be described as beautiful or as grittily rebellious, depending on how you look at it.  Indeed, the punk rock culture which is so inextricably tied to these images is based on social defiance and protest.

Fie himself is in a punk rock band.  His musical instrument?  “I yell and scream,” he said with a smirk.

“Paint and Punk Rock” will be on exhibit through April 9.  The gallery is located at 24 Avenue A.

By Eugénie Bisulco eugenie@theforumnewsgroup.com

Historian Kevin Walsh (with microphone) on Tuesday narrated a slideshow at Neir’s Tavern that provided a glimpse of parts of Queens 70-80 years ago. Forum Photo by Michael V. Cusenza.

Dozens of history buffs on Tuesday night descended on Neir’s Tavern—itself a link to Woodhaven’s past—to join city historian Kevin Walsh as he narrated a brief trip down Memory Lane via his 48-image “Forgotten Queens” slideshow.

“Queens Boulevard—it’s traffic-choked now, it was traffic-choked back then,” Walsh chuckled as seemingly every head in the room delivered a knowing nod simultaneously. The picture on the screen was of the massive thoroughfare well before it earned its nefarious “Boulevard of Death” moniker.

An image of the Grand Central Parkway under construction at 164^th Street and Hillcrest Avenue in the 1930s elicited a round of “oohs” and “aahs” from the grown-ups, while several children craned their necks up to catch a glimpse of Queens’ past.

“It’s a rural feel that is almost unthinkable today,” Walsh noted, providing a bit of context. A slide featuring Mata’s, a popular lunch destination on the Rockaway Beach boardwalk for decades, lit up more than a few faces in the audience. Burgers, Walsh said, and the signature chow mein sandwich were a dime each when the eatery opened back in 1938.

“You don’t see that now,” Walsh said.

Hidden in the background of a picture of Queens Plaza circa 1940 was the Brewster Building. Once the home of a Rolls Royce assembly plant and a carriage factory, the Brewster was mentioned in the Cole Porter classic “You’re the Top.” The site is now the corporate headquarters for JetBlue.

Walsh’s images of the plaza boasted trolleys.

“[Queens Plaza] remains of Queens great transit hubs,” he noted.

As he captioned the black-and-white images of Astoria, Walsh lamented the fate of the community’s landscape.

“Much of Old Astoria has senselessly fallen to the wrecker’s ball in recent years,” he said.

The audience wrapped things up with a round of applause for Walsh, a Flushing resident who authored “Forgotten New York: Views of a Lost Metropolis,” and curates forgotten-ny.com.

“What’s great about this is how many people came out—to see our past, the way things were,” said Ed Wendell, president of the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society, which hosted the event. “It means a lot.”

Steve Ort of Howard Beach said he uses Walsh’s presentations as a starting guide for his own personal tours of the borough.

“[The show] was a way for me to see additional photos I hadn’t seen before,” he said.

By Michael V. Cusenza

Police on Thursday executed a court-authorized search warrant at this Woodhaven building. Forum Photo by Robert Stridiron

A Woodhaven man on Thursday was arrested and arraigned on drug, child endangerment and other charges for selling marijuana and other drugs out of the basement of his family’s residence—which also operates as a family daycare center and is less than 1,500 feet from two Catholic elementary schools, according to police and Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Michael Gomez, 24, who lives in the same 88^th Avenue building in which My Precious Moments, a group family daycare facility operated by his mother, is located, was arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, fifth-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, fourth-degree criminal possession of marihuana, fourth-degree criminal sale of marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child.

Selestino Rodriguez, 23, of Ridgewood, identified by Brown as an acquaintance of Gomez, was also arrested at the location on Thursday and arraigned on a criminal complaint charging him with fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, second-degree criminally using drug paraphernalia, fourth-degree criminal possession of marijuana and endangering the welfare of a child.

Gomez was ordered held on $20,000 bail pending a bail sufficiency hearing, and Rodriguez was released on his own recognizance.

According to a police spokeswoman, cops with the Queens Narcotics squad executed a search warrant shortly after 5 a.m. on Thursday at the 88^th Avenue residence and found Gomez and Rodriguez sleeping in the basement. Brown said that Gomez allegedly told officers that the drugs were in a black bag on a shelf in the basement bedroom closet and that the weed was on the floor in a box.  From the closet shelf police allegedly recovered a total of more than seven ounces of MDMA, or “Molly,” a quantity of marijuana and $2,438 in cash, as well as empty zip lock bags and a scale containing marijuana.  From the box on the closet floor, police allegedly recovered three bags of marijuana weighing more than two ounces.

Gomez allegedly made drug sales to undercover cops on two occasions, including once near the front door as parents were picking up their children from the daycare facility, which is less than 1,500 feet from St. Elizabeth Catholic Academy on 85^th Street and St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Academy on 87^th Street. Both schools serve students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade.

Brown said, “These arrests should serve as a warning to other drug dealers that the law enforcement community will continue to aggressively track down those individuals who traffic in drugs and seek to put them in prison.”

By Michael V. Cusenza

The 12-day record came to a violent end shortly before noon on Friday, as a 28-year-old man was shot in the head, leg and hand on 89^th Street in Woodhaven, according to police and published reports.

Eric Roman was rushed to Jamaica Hospital, where he remained in critical condition until he succumbed to his injuries a little more than 24 hours later.

As of Tuesday afternoon, police were still searching for Roman’s assailants. Investigators said that according to witnesses, a suspect fled the scene in a dark Mercedes-Benz sedan.

The new year has been a violent one so far for the 102^nd Precinct. According to the latest available CompStat numbers, including the Roman murder there have been five shooting incidents, compared to none at this time last year.

By Michael V. Cusenza