Volume 65, No. 107 Friday, SEPTEMBER 13, 2019 50¢ Boozy big box QUEENS worries local liquor stores in TODAY College Point By Victoria Merlino — September 13, 2019 — Queens Daily Eagle The daughter of a millionaire booze mogul has her sights set on College Point, leaving fearful mom-and-pop liquor merchants, a THE AUDIO, VISUAL AND SPATIAL delegation’s worth of flip-flopping legislators components of hip-hop combine to create and political dollars in her wake. a sculpture that honors Queens’ hip-hop Michelle Trone, a 31-year-old entrepre- heritage and memorializes three of its greatest neur, wants to open an alcohol megastore legends. And now the piece has found a home called Total Wine & More at 30-02 White- in Jamaica. stone Expressway, the site of a former Toys “R” Us. Total Wine is a $3 billion national chain that sells alcohol at low prices and was “A CYPHER IN QUEENS,” CREATED founded by Trone’s father David Trone, a U.S. by Astoria-based sculptor Sherwin Banfield, representative from Maryland and uncle Rob- will be on display at the Queens Library’s Michelle Trone, daughter of millionaire booze mogul David Trone, wants to open a ert Trone. Central Library, located at 89-11 Merrick liquor superstore in College Point. The borough’s small liquor retailers are concerned Blvd., beginning on Sept. 19. Read more on Continued on page 9 page 12. this may kill their businesses. AP Photo/Seth Perlman, File; Inset photo courtesy of Michelle Trone.` COMMUNITY MEMBERS CAN NOW report crimes and secretly submit tips to the NYPD through a new Crime Stoppers app. DenDekker faces first challengers THE CRIME STOPPERS MOBILE APP, available on iOS and Android devices, after six terms in the Assembly gives users the ability to choose from a crime category, submit or update a tip to By David Brand investigators, view wanted posters and call Queens Daily Eagle the Crime Stoppers hotline anonymously. For the first time in his legislative career, six-term Assemblymember Michael DenDek- ker is facing an opponent to represent the 34th AS E-CIGARETTE USE AMONG Assembly District — several actually. children rises across New York and the nation, Local civic association president Nuala the city’s former mayor has announced that O’Doherty, a veteran Manhattan prosecu- his philanthropy group will spend a whopping tor, has already filed a campaign committee $160 million to end the crisis. with the Board of Elections and has begun fundraising. National Latina Institute Exec- utive Director Jessica González-Rojas and BLOOMBERG PHILANTHROPIES, Juan Ardilla have also considered entering the race for AD-34, according to informa- the charity group formed by former New York tion shared by the Democratic Socialists of City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, announced America. on Tuesday that it would launch an initiative DenDekker, a county Democratic party aimed at banning all flavored e-cigarettes stalwart, was first elected to represent parts — and stopping Juul and other e-cigarette of Jackson Heights, Woodside and East Elm- companies from marketing their products to hurst in 2008. He has sailed to victory without kids. Read more on page 12. a primary or general election opponent five times since then. This time around, he said he welcomes the challengers. POLICE HAVE RELEASED THE SUR- “I think elections are good,” he said. “I veillance images of a man and woman think elections keep an elected official work- suspected of punching a man in the face and ing hard and give the residents a chance to rate robbing him of his wallet outside of a home their elected officials.” in Middle Village. The two suspects were “This is really a litmus test on your work,” last seen at Gates Mini-Mart, located at 1534 he added. “ASee review more or a rating on page by your 16 em- Myrtle Ave. ployer.” Six-term Assemblymember Michael DenDekker (left) will face his first primary Continued on page 2 opponents, including former Manhattan prosecutor Nuala O’Doherty. Continued on page 2 Photos courtesy of DenDekker’s Office and O’Doherty SAVE THE DATE 10.03.19 Tickets/Information: Michael Nussbaum (718) 422-7409 ‧ [email protected] PRESENTS Guardians of Justice guardians-of-justice.eventbrite.com DenDekker faces first challengers after six terms in the Assembly QUEENS Continued from page 1 O’Doherty, one of DenDekker’s constit- uents, actually rates him highly in some re- spects. “If you look at his record, he votes in a pret- TODAY ty liberal, progressive way,” she said, adding that he hasn’t taken positions she disagrees — September 13, 2019 — with. The problem, she said, is that the district needs a leader in Albany now that Democrats IN AN EAGLE OP-ED ON PAGE 19, STOP control both legislative chambers. Sunnyside Yards co-founder Emily Sharpe “For so many years, people in the Assembly argues, “Though planners claim they will just voted for liberal policies and didn’t have to take pains to account for the historic low-rise worry about it,” she said. “But the world has district of Sunnyside Gardens and the high- changed and we need people up in Albany who rises of LIC for purposes of determining where will actually fight for these things.” to place certain buildings, there is no doubt O’Doherty has led the Jackson Heights that any building sitting on a platform will Beautification Group, the neighborhood’s oldest civic association, for several years and cast shadows over the coveted garden homes, serves as policy director of Amplify Her, a actual gardens and adjacent areas, robbing group that works to elect women lawmakers. everyone below of sun, sky and clouds. She spent 23 years as a prosecutor in the Man- hattan District Attorney’s Office, experience she said gives her unique perspective on crim- EIGHT MEN, INCLUDING FIVE FROM inal justice reform bills she wants to pass — or Queens, were arrested and charged in federal to tweak. court on Thursday for allegedly distributing “Raise the Age, discovery reform and bail millions of opioid pills imported from India. reform were very good, but there are a lot of The defendants primarily operated out of a little tweaks that need to be made,” she said. warehouse in Queens where they repackaged “When they made the changes, they didn’t the pills and mailed them to customers make them detailed enough.” throughout the United States. The arrests cap On discovery reform, for example, “there off a more-than-year-long investigation that needs to be clearer paths for witness protection saw the collaboration of the DEA, FBI and and how we deal with people [affected by] vio- other agencies. lent crime,” she said. DenDekker addresses students at a school in Woodside. Photo courtesy of DenDekker’s Office The law’s 15-day discovery mandate is fea- sible in most situations, she said, but “larger defender Tiffany Cabán to within 55 votes of DenDekker served as a volunteer election EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED IN crimes, where more are likely to be held in jail, the Democratic nomination for Queens DA. observer on behalf of Katz and the Queens Queens this weekend. Grapes, momos and the indictment comes very quickly and you But she has mitigated some of that criticism County Democrats during the recount. film showings are big. Really big! Antique have scores of detectives working on a case, it by working on the campaigns of each of those Whoever else enters the crowded field, the motorcycles and international dances are also takes a lot of time and the 15 days just doesn’t candidates. Her work advising Cabán on policy race will serve as a referendum on DenDek- huge. See page 19 to see more fun events going apply.” actually put her and DenDekker in opposition ker’s tenure. And he’s ready for it. on in the borough, courtesy of the Queens O’Doherty’s long tenure as a prosecutor well before announcing her bid for the Assem- “There is no data on how the community Tourism Council. could open her up to criticism from the left- bly. feels about me in an elective capacity because wing of the party, a faction that helped elect DenDekker was a proxy for Cabán’s oppo- there has not been a race. So of course it’s a local U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and nent, Borough President Melinda Katz, who very good thing,” he said. “It will let me know THE SOUTH ASIAN BAR ASSOCIATION State Sen. Jessica Ramos and carried public won the race in August. if I am doing the right thing.” of New York (SABANY) hosted its fourth annual Public Interest Reception at Milbank LLP in Manhattan last Thursday where they Queens County Criminal Court Calendar — September 13 — honored four community organizations. More than 60 attorneys and judges were in SENTENCING DAY FOR He appears in K15 for sentencing. dicted earlier this year on several charges of attendance, including Queens judges and CONVICTED SHOOTER JUSTICE MODICA PRESIDES conspiracy, enterprise corruption and money many lawyers working at legal defender Jamel Ethridge, 40, was convicted of laundering for allegedly counterfeiting auto services, nonprofits and other government second-degree attempted murder and ••• documents worth more than $400,000. organizations. See photos on page 20. second-degree criminal possession of a SENTENCING FOR Detectives tapped Andrew Pandiani’s weapon after a four-week trial in Queens CORRUPT COUNTERFEITER phone and allegedly overheard him discuss- Supreme Court. Prosecutors said Ethridge Andrew Pandiani was convicted of enter- ing a shell company that printed forged doc- KEEP YOURSELF INFORMED ABOUT shot at two plainclothes officers from the prise corruption after pleading guilty to op- uments, including temporary paper license everything Queens by subscribing to our daily NYPD Housing Bureau as they conducted erating an illegal vehicle document forgery plates and insurance documents for custom- newsletter.