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Liu, Meeks back Shafran in City Council race

webadmin on May 4, 2021

Austin Shafran was joined by Congressman Gregory Meeks and State Senator John Liu outside the Bayside Long Island Railroad station last week. Both announced they were supporting Shafran’s bid for City Council.
“Having known Austin and his family for years and worked with him inside and outside of government, I know that he has the right experience and deep motivation to deliver for our communities in the City Council,” Liu said.
“We’ve seen what happens when certain power hungry politicians pull a bait-and-switch on voters,” he added. “And that’s why it’s important we elect Austin Shafran as the real and reliable Democrat that Northeast Queens deserves.”
The “power hungry politician” Liu is likely referring to is Shafran’s opponent, former state senator Tony Avella, who held the same northeast Queens City Council post from 2001 to 2009.
In 2014, Avella joined the Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), a group of renegade Democratic state senators in Albany who allied themselves with Republicans.
Avella and his colleagues dissolved the IDC in April of 2018, but the four years they caucused with Republicans was a major issue when Liu challenged Avella for the seat later that year.
Liu would eventually go on to win the Democratic Primary and eventually the post.
In addition to Avella, the other Democratic candidates in the race include Adriana Aviles, Francis Spangenberg, Richard Lee and Nabaraj KC.
Liu joins the Queens Democratic Party, several of the city’s largest labor unions, including the United Federation of Teachers, 32BJ SEIU and District Council 37, and others in supporting Shafran’s campaign.
“John Liu is a force of nature, one of the most energetic and effective public servants I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing,” Shafran said. “As proud as I am to have his support in this campaign, I am even more honored to call him my friend and mentor.”
Meeks said Shafran feels the need to serve.
“Some people run for office because it’s about them,” he said. “Austin feels an obligation to give the people the voice then deserve and have earned.”
Shafran said he was just an “ordinary” guy who grew up in Bayside and still calls it home, and is focused on day-to-day concerns like improving education and increasing services for seniors.
“But I guess the ordinary things we do can be extraordinary in these trying moments,” he said. “Ordinary people can do extraordinary things when they come together to make their communities a better place.”
The Democratic Primary will be held on June 22. Early voting begins on June 12.

Pair trafficked teens at hotels in Suunyside, sout Queens

webadmin on May 4, 2021

Two men have been indicted twice by a Queens County grand jury on kidnapping, sex trafficking, rape and other charges.
According to the charges, Lawrence Winslow and Alan Velvett coerced a 15-year-old girl to trade sex for cash for three days in February 2021 in two hotels in Queens.
In the second case, the defendants are accused of trafficking two other teens aged 13 and 14, as well as posting nude images of the victims online and stating that they were “for sale.”
“These three teenage victims were allegedly forced to trade sex for cash with strangers and the 14-year-old was coerced into having intercourse with both defendants,” said District Attorney Melinda Katz.
Winslow, 27, of Pennsylvania and Velvett, 27, of Jamaica were arraigned on a 28-count indictment. If convicted, Winslow and Velvett each face up to life in prison.
They were also arraigned today on a 13-count indictment. If convicted on these charges, the defendants face up to 25 years in prison.
According to the first indictment, in February the 15-year-old victim met the defendants at the La Quinta Inn on Queens Boulevard in Sunnyside, where she was told she would engage in sex for cash.
Winslow paid for two rooms at the hotel and took semi-nude photos of the child and posted online advertisements. Both Velvett’s and Winslow’s cell phone numbers were used with the ads.
Before the victim had sex with strangers, she was forced to have sex with Winslow twice. That was followed by a string of strangers who had intercourse with the girl, and every dollar was pocketed by the defendants.
Velvett then relocated the victim to the JFK Inn in Springfield Gardens, where the victim was again forced to have sex with strangers for cash. Velvett also coerced the girl into having sex with him.
The teenager was rescued when an undercover police officer responded to the online ad and met with the girl in person at one of the hotel rooms. Velvett was arrested after arriving in the room. Winslow was arrested after being found in the second hotel room across the hall.
In the second case, the two teens met Winslow at the La Quinta Inn where he took nude photos of the youngsters. One of the teenagers had sex with a stranger.

Debate over Open Street program intensifies in Greenpoint

webadmin on May 4, 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused cultural conflicts both nationally and locally. Maskers vs. Anti-maskers, vaccines and anti-vaxxers, open streets and…closed streets?
Throughout the past year, a strange and intense animosity has been growing in Greenpoint regarding whether or not certain city streets should be shut down to allow for more COVID-conscious outdoor pedestrian space.
The tension began last May when Mayor bill de Blasio announced the NYC Open Streets initiative, which placed barricades to stop car traffic on hundreds of miles of streets in the city, including several Greenpoint thoroughfares.
Initially, the NYPD was in charge of the initiative, placing the barricades every morning at 8 a.m. and removing them at 8 p.m. each night. After various complaints that the officers were neglectful of their duties, community organizations volunteered to take charge of the open streets program.
Most notably, the North Brooklyn Open Streets Community Coalition stepped in to manage the situation. With the support of councilmen Antonio Reynoso and Stephen Levin, the volunteer group successfully maintained and facilitated open streets on portions of Berry, Nassau, Russell, and Driggs streets since last year.
However, the open streets program has faced significant pushback since its inception. Last November, a petition titled “Stop Open Streets from becoming a permanent fixture in Greenpoint” gained 962 signatures on Change.org.
“Many members of the community feel they were misled on the original plan, and were unaware that they were signing to completely remove the streets of Greenpoint and turn them into pedestrian-only walkways,” the petition read. “This petition is on behalf of my neighbors and car owners of Greenpoint, our voices are being silenced and we are getting increasingly worried and upset that we are not being represented in the plans for Open Streets.”
Last month, the situation reached an unprecedented fever pitch. A man in a “counterfeit” Amazon delivery truck stole 16 of Greenpoint’s open street barricades overnight, then proceeded to throw the barricades into Newtown Creek.
Members of the community organization North Brooklyn Mutual Aid searched for the missing barricades. Five were found washed up on the shoreline at the end of Apollo Street. Two were fished out of the creek by volunteers in a rowboat. The other nine were lost completely.
While less dramatic, the open street drama continues up to this week. Greenpoint local Logan Reeves recently published an op-ed calling for changes to make the open streets program more focused in its intent.
“Residents have asked multiple times to see the data that was collected in order to figure out what streets to close, and the North Brooklyn Open Streets Coalition declines to share the information,” he wrote. “Do better NYC.”
Despite the pushback, the mayor has expressed his intention to maintain the program. Many of the major Democratic candidates for mayor, including Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Ray McGuire, Diane Morales, Scott Stringer, Maya Wiley, and Andrew Yang, have also pledged to upkeep the open streets initiative.

Library systems to begin opening branches

webadmin on May 4, 2021

The city’s three library systems – The New York Public Library (NYPL), Brooklyn Public Library (BPL), and Queens Public Library (QPL) – will expand services to include browsing and computer use at select branches throughout the five boroughs beginning on May 10.
The three systems, which closed their physical locations in March 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, have been carefully and gradually reopening locations and reinstituting services to safely serve the New Yorkers who need them.
In addition to a robust suite of virtual programs and resources, including e-books, online storytimes, virtual book clubs, and remote homework help, resume assistance, and job search help, the libraries began offering grab-and-go book pickup and on-site library card sign-up in July.
Beginning on May 10 in select locations, patrons will be able to browse shelves for a set period of time and make appointments to use computers.
All patrons must follow safety protocols, including wearing masks, social distancing, and respecting time limits to ensure that as many patrons as possible can utilize services.
The systems are working towards opening additional locations this summer, and a full reopening as soon as possible in 2021.
The branches opening in Brooklyn are Brownsville, Canarsie, Central, Clinton Hill, Coney Island, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Fort Hamilton, Greenpoint, Kings Highway, Midwood, Mill Basin and Red Hook.
The branches opening in Queens include Arverne, Astoria, Auburndale, Bellerose, Cambria Heights, East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Hillcrest, Long Island City, Peninsula, Queensboro Hill, Richmond Hill, Ridgewood and Rochdale Village,
The branches selected were based on a number of factors, including proximity to public transportation, size, building condition and location, with the goal of covering as much of the City as possible.
“Libraries are essential to building a strong, fair, and equitable city, especially in the face of a global health crisis,” said Queens Public Library president and CEO Dennis Walcott. “Given the current public health conditions, the growing need for our resources and the eagerness of our staff to provide more services to the public, now is the right time to take the next step.”

Brooklyn woman charged with embezzling from Maspeth biz

webadmin on May 4, 2021

A woman has been charged with grand larceny and other crimes for allegedly stealing millions of dollars from her employer for one-third of the 22 years she worked at an interior and exterior demolition company in Maspeth.
According to the charges, between 2012 and 2019 Vedeyah Badalin abused her role as accountant at Titan Industrial Services to create fake employees in order to cash their checks and pocket the funds.
“Allegedly skimming money by the millions, this trusted employee found an unusual way to pad her bank account,” said Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz. “When the checks were cut she was the alleged recipient, depositing hundreds of thousands of dollars into her personal bank accounts.
As the company’s in-house accountant, Badal had virtually unlimited control over the business’s finances throughout her tenure.
In 2019, she left the company. It was at that point that someone discovered three employees who existed in name only, and that these three fictitious workers were getting paid weekly. The company owners conducted a forensic audit and found a total of 13 phantom employees created between 2012 and 2019. The fake workers had bogus Social Security numbers and were even having federal, state and local taxes withheld from the paychecks.
The audit revealed that between June 2015 and March 2019, there were 289 checks totaling $630,132 written against the business’s two M & T Bank account. Those checks were deposited into the defendant’s Chase Bank account.
Between May 2014 and March 2019, 269 checks totaling $596,326 were drawn from the business’s bank account and deposited into Badal’s Citibank account.
And from December 2015 through March 2019, the defendant allegedly cashed 132 checks at a local check cashing business for a total $295,127.
In all, the defendant embezzled $2 million from Titan Industrial Services. The company lost another $1 million paying various taxes on the fake employees.
The 56-year-old resident of Ridgewood Avenue in Brooklyn has been charged with grand larceny, money laundering, and falsifying business records in the first degree.
She faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted.

Drive-in movies return for a second year

webadmin on May 4, 2021

With the onset of the pandemic last spring, New Yorkers lost access to many of the city’s cultural institutions. However, one blast from the past experienced a renaissance: drive-in movie theaters.
Co-sponsored by the office of the Queens Borough President, the New York Hall of Science will be hosting a free drive-in film series for the second year in a row.
Following last year’s wildly successful screenings, the “Free Movie Nights at the Queens Drive-In” program plans on hosting six free events throughout the spring and summer of 2021.
“We’re not out of the woods when it comes to COVID-19 just yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t safely enjoy evenings in Flushing Meadows Corona Park with our family, friends and neighbors,” said Borough President Donovan Richards. “From kids flicks to cinematic classics, there is something for every family to enjoy on the big screen this spring.”
The first screening was held on May 4. Appropriately, the original Star Wars was shown to celebrate “May the Fourth Be With You.” Future screenings will include the films Inside Out, Moonlight, Coming to America, Monsoon Wedding, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. A full list of movies and show times is available at queensdrivein.com.
The Museum of the Moving Image, Parks Department, and Brooklyn-based non-profit Rooftop Films are also helping organize the events, while Queens Night Market will provide food from local vendors.
Social distancing will be strictly enforced, and all guests must register for screenings online before arriving.
Last year saw a resurgence in drive-in movies throughout the five boroughs, including the Skyline Drive-In in Greenpoint, the Bel-Aire Diner Drive-In in Astoria, and the Brooklyn Army Terminal Drive-In in Sunset Park.
For many New Yorkers, these unique cinematic experiences have provided a safe and novel way to enjoy their city during the pandemic.
“When we conceived of the Queens Drive-In last year, our goal was to create an accessible space where the people of the city could come together safely to experience the communal joy of cinema,” explained Rooftop Films president Dan Nuxoll. “We have presented more than two-dozen free screenings over the last few months, including memorable New York premieres of many of the films that were recently celebrated at the Academy Awards.”

Federal funds offer lifeline to hospitality industry

webadmin on May 4, 2021

More than $28 billion in pandemic-relief grants are now available to restaurants, bars and food suppliers, thanks to a new SBA Restaurant Revitalization Fund.
Online applications opened May 3 at noon, and will remain open until all funds are exhausted.
“These grants are going to provide direct aid to hospitality businesses that have suffered great losses throughout our country and especially here in the epicenter of the epicenter in Queens,” said Queens Chamber of Commerce president & CEO Tom Grech, who was joined last week by elected officials and other business leaders in Flushing to kick off the federal effort.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, who helped secure the grant program through the newly enacted American Rescue Plan, is encouraging Queens businesses to apply.
“Queens deserves more because we have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus,” she said. “We need to make sure that our restaurants get their fair share back.”
Before the pandemic, there were 23,000 restaurants and bars throughout the five boroughs providing more than 300,000 jobs. According to the state Comptroller’s Office, employment in the city’s restaurant industry fell to 91,000 in April, with sales plummeting more than 70 percent.
“It’s essential for us to support and enact policies to help these businesses in their time of need,” Meng added.
Yoon Joo Lee said her family’s once bustling Korean barbecue restaurant, Hahm Ji Bach, is barely surviving.
“We almost had to close, but with the money from these funds, we hope it will help us continue towards the American Dream,” she said.
The new program will provide restaurants and other eligible businesses with funding equal to their pandemic-related revenue loss. For the first 21 days, however, the SBA will approve claims from priority groups, which include businesses owned by women, veterans and individuals who are socially and economically disadvantaged.
Establishments that are publicly traded or owned by a state or local government are not eligible, nor are franchise owners that operate more than 20 restaurants.
Businesses can apply through SBA-recognized Point of Sale vendors or directly through the SBA using the application at restaurants.sba.gov. The maximum grant size is $5 million for restaurants and $10 million for restaurant groups. The minimum amount is $1,000.
Recipients are not required to repay the funding as long as funds are used by March 11, 2023.
“The diversity of our restaurant industry is really what makes Queens great,” said Assemblyman David Weprin. “We’ve been suffering over the last year and New York City is a little slower to open than the rest of the state.
But the worst is behind us, the vaccines are here and we are beginning to get out of this mess,” he added. “Hopefully the best is yet ahead.”

Rezoning seeks to allow 13-story building in Woodside

webadmin on May 4, 2021

The owners of 62-04 Roosevelt Avenue in Woodside are requesting a zoning variance to build a 13-story building, taller than the nine stories permitted under the current zoning.
The rezoning’s co-applicants – Astoria-based developer Woodside 63 Management LLC and the local dance and theater non-profit Mare Nostrum Elements, INC. – discussed the potential benefits of the project at Wednesday’s virtual hearing.
“With Mare Nostrum’s assistance, we began engaging with the community about five years ago,” said Steve Lysohir from Woodside 63’s ownership team. “We heard several priorities. Affordable housing, particularly so close to mass transit, is key to the community’s successful future
“Woodside deserves attractive architecture that fits in with the neighborhood around it,” he added. “Many arts organizations have been pushed out of their homes, and so we were inclined to include them based on feedback from Mare Nostrum.”
The proposed mixed-use development would function as both a residential building and community center.
In accordance with the city’s Mandatory Inclusionary Housing program, the owners of 62-04 Roosevelt are working to ensure that 25 percent of the apartments (54 of the planned 213 units) will be affordable.
At Wednesday’s meeting, Mare Nostrum Elements co-founder Kevin Albert also spoke at length about the nonprofit’s plan to make the new building a haven for local artists.
“We hope the development will be a space for people in the community,” Albert said. “The current model of performance art spaces in the city does not work. The pandemic has shown us that.”
The plans for 62-04 Roosevelt include studio and performance spaces for dance groups, musicians, and artists. Woodside 63 and Mare Nostrum plan on lending the space to local community groups for free rehearsals and then renting the space to other groups to raise more revenue.
Mare Nostrum also hopes on holding its own community-focused dance and art classes in the space as well.
In addition to housing and community amenities, much of Wednesday’s hearing was focused on transportation and sustainability. The site is located in close proximity to the 61st Street Station on the 7 train, which lends itself to transit-oriented development.
“We also know this is a very climate-conscious community,” Lysohir explained. “One of the most important steps local governments can take to combat climate change is to promote density near mass transit.”
Lysohir also discussed the increase in Citi Bikes in the area, and expressed Woodside 63’s interest in working with community leaders to create more bike lanes in the neighborhood.
The developer also has plans to implement energy-saving aspects to its design, including solar-panels, high-efficiency cooling and heating, and high-performance insulated windows.
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the developer also plans on reducing high-touch surfaces throughout the building.
The current single-story structure at 62-04 Roosevelt Avenue has been home to a series of struggling businesses. Lysohir and the Astoria-based Woodside 63 Management are hoping to revitalize the site.
If the variance isn’t approved, the developer still plans on constructing a nine-story, smaller version of the project that is allowed under the current zoning.

Woodhaven poet to discuss her craft at showcase

webadmin on May 4, 2021

Ever since Christine Barbour was a young girl, she knew she wanted to write. As an elementary student at St. Elizabeth’s she started off by writing prayers, which she would then read aloud at home to her parents.
“They’d look at me like I had two heads, wondering where I was getting this from,” she recalls, laughing. “It was definitely my beginning as a writer.”
Today, she still lives in the same Woodhaven house she grew up in and she’s still writing. Christine Barbour will be the next resident featured in the Woodhaven Cultural & Historical Society’s series of local artist showcases.
Barbour’s showcase will take place on Tuesday, May 11, at 8 p.m.,via Zoom and Facebook. If you would like to attend, please email us at woodhavenhistory@gmail.com for an invite to this free event.
Later on in her childhood, Barbour began collecting her writings in a series of diaries or journals.
“I kept everything in them,” she said. “I was writing poetry, but I didn’t know then that this is what I needed to do.”
It wasn’t until she went to Queens College that she realized poetry was her destiny. “I wanted to sign up for a Creative Writing course and I picked poetry and that was it,” she said. “I soon knew that this was what I had to do.”
After earning a Bachelor of Arts degree at Queens College, Barbour felt like she wasn’t finished. And so, she signed up for two years of poetry classes at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, where she earned a Master of Fine Arts degree.
After a stint teaching reading and math at the Adult Learning Center in the Elmhurst Library, Barbour founded Iron Horse Poetry (previously named the Woodhaven Poetry Society), a free two-hour workshop of poetry craft and writing.
She also sponsored a school-wide poetry contest for grades two through eight at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Academy.
These days, Barbour is turning her attention back to her writing, currently working on two books.
One is a 40-page chapbook titled “Frozen, Alive with Fire.” The other is a full-length book titled “The Sudden Shock of Lightning.” Both books will be self-published.
“Walt Whitman self-published because he couldn’t get published,” Barbour said. “This is an avenue to at least get your work out there.”
One of the poems that will be discussed in her showcase is called “The Shoemaker’s Glue,” a piece that is drawn from Barbour’s childhood memories of growing up in Woodhaven.
“It’s about two shoemakers in Woodhaven,” she explains. “And both of them had tattoos.”
As a child, Barbour had wondered what the tattoos were, and eventually found out that they came from their time in concentration camps during World War II. The piece is written in a child’s voice and Barbour considers it one of her favorite poems.
“I have a lot of favorite poems, but rarely poems in their entirety,” she explained. “Sometimes I love the ending or there’s a stanza in the middle that gets me charged up.
“To me, my poems are like cats,” she added. “You can have a lot of cats, but not all of them are 100 percent great. They have their own personalities, and some parts of their characters are awesome and some are downright bitchy. My poems are kind of like that!”
Another way of getting your work out there is though public readings or open mic events, but it takes time to get used to reading your work before a live audience. Barbour’s first public reading took place while in college, an experience she recalls as “horrible.”
“Thank God they had a podium because I was shaking everywhere,” she said.
But when she got to the end of the poem and heard the audience’s reaction, she knew she had something and never looked back. Since then, Barbour has won over 15 poetry writing contents and has read her work at poetry events throughout Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island.
Come join us next week as this award-winning Woodhaven poet shares her talents with her community. And for any other artists out there in Woodhaven, if you’d like to take part in our showcase series, please reach out to us at woodhavenhistory@gmail.com. We would love to make your acquaintance.

Public sounds off on updated W’burg park redesign

webadmin on May 4, 2021

The controversial renovation of Marsha P. Johnson State Park in Williamsburg continued its long and winding journey towards reopening during three design review sessions this past week.
In early 2020, the park officially changed its name from East River State Park to Marsha P. Johnson State Park to honor the legacy of the notable LGBTQ+ activist and 1969 Stonewall Uprising leader.
The site was closed soon thereafter due to the pandemic, and remains closed to renovate and redesign the park in honor of its new namesake.
However, the proposed redesign, which would include the installation of a large, plastic mural on one of the park’s two concrete slabs, drew the ire of community organizers and Williamsburg residents.
In a series of public hearings last months, community members and the family of Johnson criticized the redesign for failing to properly honor the activist’s legacy. They demanded the state Parks Department abandon its redesign in exchange for one that would reflect Johnson’s well-documented love of flowers.
The department complied, and for the past three weeks landscape architecture firm Starr Whitehouse has been working on a new design.
This past week, the department and firm held three public review sessions to gather community feedback for the proposal. Two of the design reviews were held in person at the park at 90 Kent Avenue and one was held virtually.
“This has been the most iterative process I’ve even been involved in,” explained Laura Starr, a founding partner of Starr Whitehouse, at the virtual design review. “I think we have included almost every suggestion in some way. I love all of the feedback we’ve received at the in-person meetings.”
While some elements of the park’s original design have been kept, including the playgrounds, many other aspects have been completely redeveloped. Most notably, the plastic mural was scrapped in favor of more green space and flowers.
Starr Whitehouse is also still in the process of implementing additional community suggestions into the design. These include an amphitheater space, an entrance gate, narrative plaques to tell Johnson’s life story, and several safe spaces and resources for the LGBTQ+ and Trans communities.
“We are still massaging the design drawing,” Starr explained. “We are taking in all our input now, even if we won’t be able to implement it until later.”
However, Monday’s design review still garnered a fair amount of criticism.
“In my opinion, the park looks a little commercial like,” said Anika Dorsey Good, Johnson’s great-niece. “It has green space, but it isn’t very vibrant. As a family member, we don’t want the only thing commemorating Marsha when this park opens to be a metal plaque. We want the park to really embody who Marsha was.”
New York City regional director for State Parks Leslie Wright pushed back against the critics.
“We are not in a position to parse it tree by tree,” Wright said. “We are here to figure out what the greatest consensus is on the biggest points, so we can get the park open as soon as possible.”
While not discussed at Monday’s event, the redesign has also drawn criticism for its relationship to the Smorgasburg Food Festival traditionally held every Saturday at the site.
In past design reviews, proponents of Smorgasburg have lobbied for more concrete space in the park to house food trucks and tents. Critics of the food festival have pushed back against such suggestions.
After two final public review sessions this coming week, the Parks Department and Starr Whitehouse will finalize their plans and move forward with a new design. The park is then expected to fully reopen at some point in 2021.

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