• JAMAICA TIMES • ASTORIA TIMES • FOREST HILLS LEDGER • LAURELTON TIMES • QUEENS VILLAGE TIMES • RIDGEWOOD LEDGER • HOWARD BEACH TIMES • RICHMOND HILL TIMES Apr. 26-May 2, 2013 Your Neighborhood - Your News® FREE ALSO COVERING ELMHURST, JACKSON HEIGHTS, LONG ISLAND CITY, MASPETH, MIDDLE VILLAGE, REGO PARK, SUNNYSIDE City builds soccer fi elds Painting a on MLS proposed site New Reality Page 9 QGuideQGuide Page 3939 Probation Dept. Girls beaten in Astoria Park brawl brings families Five teens taped into new center FLOWER POWER on video arrested BY RICH BOCKMANN in assault: Police A revamped probation pro- gram the city introduced in BY KAREN FRANTZ Jamaica over the summer is expected to branch out to Long Five youths who are sus- Island City and Far Rockaway pected of engaging in a mob at- soon. tack against two 14-year-old girls In July, officials cut the rib- in Astoria Park — an assault that bon on the Neighborhood Oppor- was caught on video — were ar- tunity Network center — NeON, rested last week, police said. as it is called — located in the The graphic video of the at- city Department of Probation’s tack, which shows several teen- office, at 162-24 Jamaica Ave. The age girls hitting and kicking the center, the third to be opened in victims in the park, at 19th Street the city, is part of Mayor Michael between Astoria Park South and Bloomberg’s Young Men’s Initia- Ditmars Boulevard, was upload- tive: a public/private partner- ed to the Internet. It helped po- ship developed to enhance op- lice identify the youths allegedly portunities for young black and involved, City Councilman Peter Hispanic men, a large compo- Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) said. nent of which was an overhaul of “As pathetic as it is that peo- the city’s probation programs. ple think they need to post these “Adult probation has de- Volunteers (l.-r.) Linisa Scharrer, Giselle Bates and Anna Guasto transform flower beds on along Continental/71 Avenue videos, as a prosecutor, I can tell cided to no longer just work with in Forest Hills as part of an Earth Day cleanup. See more photos on Page 28. Photo by Christina Santucci you it is extremely helpful to us,” the probationer,” NeON supervi- he said. Continued on Page 49 Continued on Page 54 A CNG Publication Vol. 1 No. 16 60 total pages 2 TL City moves on trash problem Man killed after car COM . Sanitation gets new authority after Jamaica activist causes a stir hits Willets Pt. shop TIMESLEDGER BY JOE ANUTA ing on the sidewalk, identi- BY RICH BOCKMANN fied as Alex by the shop’s Minutes after a car owner. According to by- 2, 2013 2, 2013 They say you can’t smashed into a Willets standers, one or both of the AY fight City Hall, but who- Point body shop Tuesday af- worker’s legs were severed ever said you can’t give it ternoon, killing one worker by the impact. 26-M a motivating kick in the and injuring two others, po- The Toyota then struck PR rear end every once in a lice said, a motorist raced a support beam at one cor- , A while? to the bloody scene to give ner of the body shop’s en- EDGER L For about a year now crucial medical attention. trance, bending it inward. southeast Queens activ- A 52-year-old driver The car entered the garage, IMES T ist Joe Moretti has been plowed his 1992 Toyota where it hit two cars and spearheading a campaign Corolla into New Pamir two mechanics working to clean up illegal dump- Auto Body Shop in Willets there, police and witnesses ing and unsightly trash Point across from Citi Field said. in Jamaica — calling out at about 11:45 a.m., police One of those men was public officials, enlisting said, killing a 33-year-old killed, according to police. the help of the media and man and possibly severing The other employee also keeping the city Sanita- both legs of another. sustained injuries, cops tion Department in his Moments before, the said. Both cars remained at crosshairs. man allegedly rear-ended a the scene, the NYPD said. Part of the problem black Mercedes-Benz while All three men were for Sanitation, though, traveling southbound on taken to New York Hospital was another scourge of 126th Avenue, according Queens, according to the southeast Queens: fore- to police. The Toyota then FDNY, where the 33-year- closed properties. The de- crossed the double yellow old was pronounced dead, partment had the ability line, sailed through the the 30-year-old was listed to clean private, derelict northbound lane of traffic in critical condition and a lots and bill the owners and careened toward the 34-year-old man was listed but did not have the same shop, at 35-01 126th St., cops in serious but stable condi- recourse when it came Joe Moretti points to a littered lot in southeast Queens. The city Sanitation Department was recently said. tion. to cleaning up vacant or given new powers to clean abandoned buildings. The car first struck a “I almost fainted,” said abandoned buildings. 30-year-old employee stand- Continued on Page 54 Sanitation worked Board 12 last week. “That while he was happy the de- them to continually moni- with the city Health De- then enables us to go onto partment was taking more tor it month after month. partment to figure out a those properties and clean steps, he would not rest Sanitation’s not going to solution. up those conditions and until a more over-reaching clean something up unless “After a number bill the owners.” solution was found. someone calls it in.” of months of working Ehrhardt said the de- “I just kind of feel Moretti recently through that, the Health partment started flexing like there is some mo- launched a blog, cleanup- Department modified its its new powers in the CB mentum because we are jamaicaqueens.wordpress. procedures and its legal 12 area in February and being heard. I don’t know com, which chronicles notice that is given to the has cleaned up 21 vacant if we’re getting quite the not only the area’s dirtiest owners of properties when buildings with another satisfaction we want, but spots, but also some of its there is a health nuisance 24 in progress. Since the people are talking about highlights, like his favor- on the property caused beginning of the year, it,” he said. ite restaurants. by garbage buildup and he said, Sanitation has “It’s fine if you’re go- things like that,” Henry cleared 44 vacant lots and ing to come out and clean Reach reporter Rich Ehrhardt, Sanitation’s is in the process of clean- it up. That’s what we Bockmann by e-mail at director of customer re- ing up 21 others. want,” he said. “But it’s [email protected] Zach Arzo, (l.) one of the auto body shop’s owners, stands near lations, told Community Moretti said that just a Band-Aid. We want or by phone at 718-260-4574. where one worker was killed. Photo by Christina Santucci IN THIS ISSUE HOW TO REACH US Police Blotter ........................................................8 Focus on Queens ................................................36 MAIL: 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY 11361 Editorials & Letters ...................................... 12-13 QGuide ........................................................... 39-45 PHONE: Display Advertising: (718) 260-4537 — Editorial: (718) 260-4545 Political Action ....................................................14 Business ............................................................... 46 FAX: General: (718) 225-7117 — Editorial (718) 224-2934 Display: (718) 260-4537 — Classified: (718) 260-2549 QueensLine ...........................................................14 Sports ............................................................. 51-53 E-MAIL: Editorial: [email protected] Focus on Health ..........................................33-35 Classified ...................................................... 54-59 Display Advertising: [email protected] Classified: [email protected] TO SUBSCRIBE: Call (718) 260-4590 Copyright©2013 Queens Publishing Corp. TIMESLEDGER is published weekly by News Community Newspaper Holdings Inc., 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, NY. 11361, (718) 229-0300. The entire contents of this publication are copyright 2013. All rights reserved. The newspaper will not be liable for errors appearing in any advertising beyond the cost of the space occupied by the error. Periodicals postage paid at Flushing, N.Y.. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to the TimesLedger C/O News Community Newspaper Holdings Inc. 41-02 Bell Boulevard, Bayside, N.Y. 11361. 3 Engineering fl oats students’ boats at Jamaica HS campus TL T IMES L STEM pupils race cardboard vessels held together with duct tape across pool in 8th annual event EDGER BY RICH BOCKMANN nology, engineering and in the race’s first heat, , A PR math students to let their but their time was not fast . 26-M More than two dozen hair down and show off enough to make it to the teams of excited students their creative sides. finals. AY attempted with varying Each team of builders As the teams waited 2, 2013 degrees of success to tra- picked a pair of rowers to in the gym prior to the verse the pool at the Ja- get in the two-man-sized race, Team Shark seemed maica High School cam- boats paddle their way to have the most bravado TIMESLEDGER pus last week in cardboard across the pool, and before as members stomped and boats held together with the races teams gathered clapped proclaiming their duct tape. in the building’s gym to school No. 1. “I think it’s kind of show off their creations. “We ain’t done yet!” COM the fun of it, the anticipa- Habib Rahman and shouted Avon Hall of the tion,” said engineering his friends built a boat de- original Jamaica HS, teacher Suman Sabastin, signed — aesthetically at which will be phased out who traveled with her least — on their favorite at the end of next year.