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Volume 65, No. 103 Monday, SEPTEMBER 9, 2019 50¢ Raise the Age QUEENS removal rate at 63% — still TODAY lowest in NYC — September 9, 2019 — Court observers AN ASTORIA EDUCATOR WAS ARR- aigned in federal court Friday on charges say the cause is that he attempted to meet a child for sex in the LaGuardia Airport food court. Jason hard to pinpoint Seto, 41, works as a community school By David Brand director in Queens and is employed by the Queens Daily Eagle United Federation of Teachers. He was The rate of 16-year-old “adolescent of- arrested Thursday night at LaGuardia after fenders” removed from Queens Criminal he allegedly attempted to meet a 14-year-old Court under the state’s Raise the Age law boy for sex. trails the citywide average and is the lowest in the five boroughs, but it’s hard to pinpoint what accounts for that disparity, say attor- THE ROBERT F. KENNEDY BRIDGE Acting Queens District Attorney John Ryan’s office uses different criteria than other neys and court observers. boasts panoramic, nearly unobstructed New York City prosecutors for determining what adolescent offender cases they want Continued on page 2 waterfront views from its pedestrian and to remain in criminal court. Photo courtesy of the Queens DA’s Office cyclist path. The East River crossing, with its spans connecting Queens, The Bronx and Manhattan, offers vistas of Astoria, the Hellgate Bridge and the leafy fields of Randall’s Island. Thousands of NYC students rely on dollar BUT MANY SAY THE VERTIGO- vans, the city’s other transit system inducing scenery isn’t worth it: Walking or By Angel Torres biking along the narrow path — which is Special to the Eagle mostly guarded by a four-foot barrier, topped The Jamaica Center transit hub can be a cha- by a railing — could cost the ultimate toll. otic place, especially for someone unfamiliar Read more on page 7. with the area. A total of 28 bus lines stop at the station. So do three different subway lines and the Long AS PUBLIC SCHOOL RESUMED Island Rail Road. across the city, some Sunnyside parents There’s also a lesser known, but equally said they were keeping an open mind about important, mode of transportation: the “dollar a transformative proposal to end gifted van,” which makes up Queens’ sprawling al- and talented programs citywide — despite ternative transit network. For many commut- vocal backlash from opponents of the plan. ers, including students, the vans are the most Others said the proposal would eliminate an efficient — and sometimes only — way to get home. educational track that challenges and uplifts Throughout the day, dozens of dollar van students. drivers park outside Jamaica Center and shout destinations like “Rosedale,” “Q5” or “Q4,” their voices cutting through the dense crowds. MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO’S SCHOOL Jamaica commuters have become familiar with Diversity Advisory Group released a 40-page the shouting drivers, as well as their vital func- report on Aug. 24 calling for the elimination tion. of gifted and talented programs and school Dollar vans are large vehicles that provide screening in the city. The result of the report, a taxi carpooling service for New Yorkers, commissioned to address racial disparities especially residents of “transit deserts” with in city schools, prompted strong opposition little access to reliable public transportation. from many parents and local leaders. Read The dollar van name is slightly misleading: A more on page 10. trip usually costs $2 — still 75 cents less than a MetroCard swipe. The vans often drive along the same routes THE U.S. OPEN WOUND DOWN THIS as buses, and van networks exist in Queens, weekend, but tennis fever is just heating up Students head to the first day of school on Sept. 5. An untold number of children Brooklyn, the Bronx and the boroughs' Chi- depend on "dollar vans" to travel to and from school. Continued on page 2 Photo by Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office via Flickr Continued on page 11 SAVE THE DATE 10.03.19 Tickets/Information: Michael Nussbaum (718) 422-7409 ‧ [email protected] PRESENTS Guardians of Justice guardians-of-justice.eventbrite.com Raise the Age removal rate at 63% — still QUEENS lowest in NYC Continued from page 1 TODAY Raise the Age, which took effect Oct. 1, 2018, designated 16-year-olds charged with — September 9, 2019 — crimes as “adolescent offenders” and mandat- ed that they be removed from criminal court except when charged with sex crimes, an of- fense that caused serious injury or the use of a for many Queens residents enthralled with deadly weapon. The law also gave prosecutors Serena, Rafa, Naomi and Novak. Looking for discretion to file motions for cases to remain a place to learn the game, or just want to work in criminal court under an “extraordinary cir- on your backhand? The home search website cumstances” provision that didn’t meet one of Localize.city has identified and mapped 587 the three criteria for automatic retention in the public tennis courts at locations across New criminal court youth part. York City and highlighted the neighborhoods In New York City overall, 79 percent of the with the most places to play. Read more on 16-year-olds arraigned in criminal court — 616 of 776 — were removed to family court or page 10. probation intake during the first nine months under Raise the Age, according to data com- piled by the state Department of Criminal THOUGH STEINWAY & SONS IS WELL Justice Services. The rate was nearly the same known for constructing some of the world’s statewide. finest pianos, few know about the company’s In Queen, the removal rate was just 57 per- history constructing Astoria. Read more on cent (73 of 127 cases) in the first nine months page 15. under the law — lower than the city or state The Queens DA’s reported that 63 percent of adolescent offenders’ cases were average, and 35 percent lower than the rate 92 removed to Queens Family Court under the Raise the Age law, which took effect Oct. percent removal rate in neighboring Brooklyn. CIVIL UNREST, BLACK LIBERATION, 1, 2018. Eagle file photo by Andy Katz The Queens District Attorney’s Office the fight for LGBT rights and anti-war struggle shared up-to-date information with the Eagle consideration in favor of child being placed in lescent offenders could also account for the combine to make one history-filled exhibit at that shows that 104 of the 165 total Raise the Family Court, particularly if they are coerced lower rate of removal in Queens, said defense Queens College. Age cases, a rate of 63 percent, were removed or there’s some type of power imbalance.” attorney Joe Murray, the Republican nominee through Sept. 5. Adult co-defendants could also include 18 for Queens DA. In addition to the three criteria that au- year olds, who are close in age to adolescent “I believe that we have a significant amount “CAMPUS UNREST AT 50: COMME- tomatically keep a child’s case in criminal offenders. The adolescent offender designa- of gang violence in Queens that may be con- morating the Legacy of Dissent at Queens court, the Queens prosecutors assess “wheth- tion will expand to include 17 year olds next tributing to that number,” Murray said last College” will be on display at Queens College er adult co-defendants are made on the same month. Ginsburg questioned the adult code- week. “As these programs and therapy may until Dec. 15 at the Benjamin S. Rosenthal arrest, and whether the adolescent offenders fendant consideration in those cases. not be as successful to kids involved in gang Library. The exhibit chronicles the tumultuous (AO) has a consistent pattern or history in “I don’t know the relevance of them having activity, this office may have decided to adopt year of 1969 through the lens of Queens criminal court,” said a spokesperson for the an adult codefendant other than the Queens a policy to criminally prosecute the defen- College, including the black and women’s Queens DA’s Office. DA’s Office wanting to get credit for two dif- dants in those cases.” liberation movements, LGBT rights-related A deputy bureau chief and an assistant dis- ferent convictions,” she said. “It’s a line in the A spokesperson for the Office of Court Ad- protests and student opposition to the Vietnam trict attorney arraign each cases in the youth sand that they seem to have made up.” ministration said "a lot of considerations go War. part, the spokesperson said. Judge Lenora Nevertheless, Ginsburg and others familiar into the decision regarding removing a case to Gerald presides in the youth part. with court proceedings said the lower rate in Family Court." “The judge in the youth part ultimately de- Queens relative to the other boroughs is due "Once a case is removed, it cannot be re- LONG ISLAND CITY MAN WHO DEALT cides which cases will be removed so all the to a combination of factors. stored to criminal court. There is no one size cocaine and heroin in the Ravenswood cases that are kept in criminal court are either Prosecutors file motions to retain cases in fits all," the spokesperson said. "All parties Houses received an 8-year prison sentence on agreed to by the judge or on the consent of the criminal court in Queens more often than in involved, the judge, prosecution and defense Thursday. defense,” the spokesperson said. other boroughs, except Manhattan, Ginsburg determine what would be best for the defen- The DA’s decision to file motions to keep said.