Volume 65, No. 157 TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2019 50¢ QUEENS Ulrich eyes TODAY November 26, 2019 new job Queens’ lone Republican F ACING THE LOSS OF THEIR elected official wants to certificate to offer natural gas service in lead the Board Of Elections downstate New York, National Grid said on Monday that it has reached an agreement with By David Brand Queens Daily Eagle the state to immediately resume connecting With two years left to go in his City gas customers in Queens, Brooklyn and Council tenure, term-limited Queens Coun- Long Island. Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the cilmember Eric Ulrich is eyeing a move to agreement “a victory for customers.” the top job at the city’s embattled Board of Elections. Ulrich is interested in becoming the exec- “NI AT ONAL GRID WILL PAY A utive director of the BOE, Gotham Gazette significant penalty for its failure to address first reported Sunday, but the only Republi- the supply issue, its abuse of its customers, can in the Queens delegation will have his and the adverse economic impact they have Councilmember Eric Ulrich wants to become the next executive director of the New caused,” Cuomo said. “The company is also Continued on page 7 York City Board of Elections. Council photo by John McCarten/Flickr working to address the long-term supply problem and will present options in the coming months to the people of Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, letting them choose the best way forward for their communities.” City set to shutter two jails to HATEFUL GRAFFITI WAS FOUND scrawled on a bus shelter in Astoria over the weekend, as hate crimes remain on the rise make way for new facilities in Queens and across the city. The graffiti, By Victoria Merlino discovered on a bus shelter located at Ditmars Queens Daily Eagle Boulevard and Steinway Street, directed Two of New York City’s 11 municipal jails anyone who spotted a turban to “chop it off.” will close in early 2020 as the city prepares to build four new borough-based detention fa- cilities, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced last “HATE HAS NO HOME IN NEW YORK Thursday. The Brooklyn Detention Complex in Boe- and we cannot tolerate these incidents in our rum Hill will close in January 2020 and the communities. This should be investigated Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island will promptly as a hate crime,” State Sen. Michael close in March 2020, as the city’s jail popu- Gianaris said in a statement. “Western lation falls below 7,000 people and will likely Queens is among the most diverse places to decrease further. The city estimates that the live on the planet and this does not reflect who population will decrease to 3,300 by 2026. we are or what we aspire to be.” “With the lowest rate of incarceration of any major city and crime at historic lows, New York is again debunking the notion that you LITD MI E -STOP BUS SERVICE IN must arrest your way to safety,” de Blasio said Queens will be reduced in Queens on Nov. in a statement. “These two closures show that 29, the day after Thanksgiving. Limited-stop we are making good on our promise to close service will be available on the Q10 Ltd, Q50 Rikers Island and create a correctional system Ltd, Q100 Ltd, Q113 Ltd, and Q114 Ltd only, that is fundamentally smaller, safer and fairer.” according to the MTA. The borough-based jails plan, approved by the City Council in October, will build mod- ern jail facilities in each borough except Staten U .S. REP. GRACE MENG, WHO Island. The City Council voted in favor of the represents parts of Eastern Queens, plan after months of contentious arguments announced the introduction of the Closing the from local residents over the scope and exe- Homework Gap Through Mobile Hotspots cution of the plan. A related land use measure Act, which would create a $100 million grant will formally ban the infamous and outdated program for schools, libraries, U.S. territories jails on Rikers Island. A jail on Rikers Island and a Brooklyn jail in Boerum Hill will close early next year as the Continued on page 16 Continued on page 2 city prepares to build four new borough-based jails. AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File Follow us on Twitter Like us on Facebook Visit us Online @queenseagle facebook.com/queenseagle queenseagle.com Nonprofit consultant helps agencies reach offline New Yorkers for online Census By David Brand QUEENS Queens Daily Eagle A New York City nonprofit consulting firm is stepping up efforts to connect oth- er agencies with residents in hard-to-count communities ahead of the 2020 U.S. Census — the first to emphasize digital responses. TODAY The Community Resource Exchange, an organization that advises and supports other nonprofits throughout the city, will host four November 26, 2019 workshops to prepare agencies for the U.S. Census, which begins March 2020. The first two workshops will take place and federally recognized Indian Tribes to on Dec. 4 at 9:30 a.m. and Dec. 10 at 3 p.m. at purchase mobile hotspots to help close the the CRE offices at 42 Broadway, 20th Floor. nation’s homework gap. The funds would The organization will soon announce the ensure that students have internet access to date and location of a workshop in Queens. complete their homework. “The 2020 Census brings unique chal- lenges,” said CRE President and CEO Katie Leonberger. “This will be the first digital “ EVERY CHILD DESERVES THEIR census with an online approach, which may best chance at pursuing an education. But be compromised because 35 percent of U.S. it breaks my heart knowing that millions of adults do not have internet access at home.” kids, every night, are unable to finish their A map of New York City at the Queens Museum. Eagle photo by David Brand The online approach could pose a ma- homework simply because they are without jor problem for hundreds of thousands of Survey estimates,. About 6 percent of the The results of the Census, which takes internet access. Before the internet became Queens residents. households had a cellular data plan only for place every 10 years, determine the amount ubiquitous, students completed their homework Up to two-thirds of Queens County’s internet. of federal funding regions receive, as well with pencil and paper—today, that is no longer current population — more than 1.5 million “Tracts with limited internet access rep- as the congressional representation of each [the] case,” Meng said in a statement. people — live in hard-to-count neighbor- resent areas where people will need help state. New York State is expected to lose up hoods, according to the “Census Hard to accessing the internet to apply for census to two Congressional seats based on popula- Count” map created by the CUNY Graduate jobs,” the HTC team writes on its website. tion estimates — a problem exacerbated by MAYOR BILL DE BLASIO SIGNED A Center and the Leadership Conference on Just 61.9 percent of New York City house- a low Census response rate. new package of legislation into law on Monday Civil and Human Rights. A large proportion holds self-responded to the 2010 census, Local leaders have implored residents to to protect and promote animal welfare. In of those communities lack reliable internet compared to a nationwide average of 75.8 submit their completed forms. addition to establishing an Office of Animal access. percent, according to federal data. The “Every community member must be Welfare, increasing animal cruelty reporting, Nearly 18 percent of Queens households turnout was far worse in throughout much counted,” said Queens Assemblymember and promoting animal shelter adoptions and lacked home internet access or had dial-up of Queens, especially in parts of Southeast Alicia Hyndman at a recent town hall meet- kennel cough vaccinations, the animal welfare only connection between 2013 and 2017, ac- Queens, where response rates dipped below ing in Richmond Hill. “We need these dol- package prevents the trafficking of wild birds, cording to the latest American Community 50 percent. lars to come into the community.” bans the sale of foie gras and improves working conditions for carriage horses. What's on the docket for the Queens legal community Subway 'surfer' KE E P YOURSELF INFORMED ABOUT the hottest topics in Queens communities and dies riding a politics by visiting our website at queenseagle. com. Q UEENS COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION HOLIDAY PARTY Thursday, Dec. 12 • 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. train in Queens The Queens County Bar Association, Brandeis Association, Hellen- Associated Press ic Lawyers Association, Latino Lawyers Association of Queens County, New York City transit officials say a person Macon B. Allen Black Bar Association and Queens County Women’s Bar surfing a subway train — meaning lying on top Association will host Queens' annual holiday party. — was found dead in a Queens station. Douglaston Manor, 6320 Commonwealth Blvd., Douglaston, NY 11362 The victim was struck at about 9 p.m. Sat- urday at Queensboro Plaza on an elevated No. 7 train. The person's age and identity were not im- mediately released. Get 'The Best of the Nest' MACON B. ALLEN BLACK BAR ASSOCIATION HOLIDAY DINNER The MTA said the station was totally closed Tuesday, Dec. 17 • 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. for hours during an investigation. No. 7 and delivered to your The annual holiday event will feature an open bar, dinner and DJ. N trains bypassed the normally congesting inbox every week: Antun’s, 96-43 Springfield Blvd., Queens Village Queens stop.