By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police were investigating an apparent murder-suicide that occurred early Thursday afternoon, leaving two men dead at the Hilton Garden Inn at 148-18 134th St. outside John F. Kennedy Airport.

According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, two unidentified white men in their 30s were sitting at a table meeting with several others in a small room off the hotel lobby when one stood up and shot another with an unknown firearm before turning the weapon on himself.

Brown said no arrests were made, but witnesses said they saw police apprehend four men at the scene.

One hotel worker said he noticed eight suspicious men meeting in a café near the lobby before hearing the shots. Seconds before the first shot was fired, the worker said one of the men had asked where the bathroom was and left the room.

“It was as if he knew,” the worker said. “Something suspicious was going on.”

A photo of the scene showed what appeared to be the murder victim lying face-up in a pool of blood with the apparent shooter hunched over a nearby chair after the DA said he used the gun to shoot himself.

The worker said police arrived soon afterwards and arrested four of the men as they attempted to flee.

Ramon Sterling, 42, was on his way home after working his shift at the nearby Do & Co catering at 149-32 132nd St. when he saw the four men on the ground in handcuffs. He said they appeared to be in their mid-30s and looked like they were European.

Brown said police were investigating the cause of the shooting and the four men’s relationship with the gunman and his apparent victim.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police shot and killed an enraged knife-wielding man Thursday night after he used the weapon to stab his wife and then himself, the NYPD said.

Crime tape and spattered blood were still visible at the scene Friday morning as cops said they were still investigating and looking for evidence involving an apparent domestic dispute near Cardozo High School in Oakland Gardens Thursday night that left a husband dead and his wife in critical condition.

According to police, officers responded to 911 calls around 8:30 p.m. about a 50-year-old suicidal man stabbing himself in the neck. When they arrived, officers said they found that the man had also stabbed his 51-year-old wife in the neck.

The man was shot in the arm and chest and killed by police in a courtyard outside his wife’s apartment at 61-47 223 Place after he refused to drop his knife, the NYPD said.

Both were taken to North Shore-LIJ Hospital in Manhasset, where the man was pronounced dead on arrival and his wife was listed in critical condition, police said.

Police recovered the knife from the scene.

It was unclear whether the man died from the gunshots or self-inflicted knife wounds, police said.

Danny Park, 48, has lived with his family in the upstairs apartment for four years. According to Park, the woman lived with her 17-year-old daughter in the downstairs apartment for almost 20 years. He said his neighbors were quiet and all of his passing encounters were friendly.

“I would say ‘hi’ to them all the time,” Park said. “They were always quiet and nice. They never had any problems with us.”

A nearby neighbor who lives on the other side of the courtyard said she heard what sounded like a firecracker early Thursday night, but did not think it was a gunshot. She said children often play in the area and she never would have guessed that there was a violent dispute across the courtyard.

“I was devastated to hear the news,” the neighbor said. “I’m thinking this was an isolated incident in this neighborhood. But timing is of the essence. If a kid might have seen that, it could be terrifying to them.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police arrested an Astoria man in the stabbing death of 28-year-old man in an apartment above a Steinway Street hookah cafe Friday night, the NYPD said.

According to police, Wahid Elawame, 35, was arrested and charged with murder, kidnapping and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the stabbing that occurred at his apartment around 11:30 p.m.

Elawame allegedly stabbed the victim after an altercation during a gathering with two other men, according to police at the 114th Precinct.

Police said the 28-year-old victim, whose name was being withheld until his family was notified, was taken with a stab wound in the torso to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The incident occurred on the third floor of an apartment building above Layali Beirut, a lounge at 25-60 Steinway St.

The owner of the lounge, Mohamed Mohamed, said he shared the apartment with the Elawame and two other men.

“He [Elawame] didn’t have the right frame of mind,” said Mohamed, 53, who alleged the suspect was an alcoholic.

Mohamed said that Elawame had been in the apartment with a friend and the two other roommates Friday night, while Mohamed was working.

After hearing two loud crashes on the roof of Layali Beirut, Mohamed said he went outside and saw that two of his roommates had fled from the third floor apartment by jumping out the window.

“They jumped out to get away,” he said. “They said he [Elawame] stabbed the man.”

Antonia Grancelli, 20, lives on the second floor and heard someone scream at the time of the murder.

“A man jumped from the window crying and screaming, ‘he’s getting killed,’” she said. “One of the guys who jumped was holding his arm like it was broken. My sister called the police.”

Police said they took a suspect into custody early Saturday morning and identified Elawame as the man who had been arrested later in the afternoon.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

There were points where so many people spoke over each other that no words were audible, while at other times one commanding voice dominated and echoed throughout the room.

But by the end of a heated Bayside business and property owners summit Tuesday night, the discussion had shifted from the past to the future.

“The goal is to leave this room with a healthier Bayside,” said Gregg Sullivan, ousted executive director of the Bayside Village Business Improvement District.

For the first time since Sullivan’s firing in December, BID members gathered inside All Saints Episcopal Church, at 214-35 40th Ave., to publicly smooth over various issues concerning the business group.

Those in attendance included Sullivan, BID Chairman Jim Riso, Uncle Jack’s Steakhouse CEO William Degel, City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone), newly appointed Executive Director Lyle Sclair and members of Small Business Administration.

The meeting was held partly in response to an initial gathering Sullivan and Degel helped launch last month, where Bell Boulevard business owners and residents called on the BID to respond to claims of inactivity and a lack of transparency since Sullivan’s firing.

“Nobody denies that we did face a huge setback,” Riso said in his opening address at Tuesday’s meeting. “The last thing I wanted to do was fire Gregg.”

Riso said Sullivan’s termination was a board decision and not his alone. The firing came in light of behavior that Riso said included Sullivan’s conducting business without the board’s approval.

But according to Degel, one of the BID’s biggest problems in recent months has been keeping business owners and residents informed as to where their taxpayer money was going.

Sullivan said he tried to rebut claims made by the board about his performance at the meeting, but infighting made it difficult for him to get his point across.

Arguments over the decision to fire Sullivan and his actions became heated at times as members of the board sparred with the former executive director over different aspects of his tenure. The tension became so intense at one point that Halloran jumped out of his seat to put an end to the squabbling.

“You’re all killing me,” Halloran told the suddenly quiet room. “There needs to be more input with the business owners. What I would like to see is for everyone to move forward.”

The meeting shifted focus after Halloran spoke out and Sclair took the microphone to talk about the BID’s future with him at the helm.

“I think we have a lot of opportunity going forward,” Sclair said. “Once I understand our challenges, we can match our collective strengths to face them. It’s my job to make you money.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Christina Santucci

TimesLedger Newspapers

A 23-year-old man who was shot in the head made a desperate attempt to get help before he collapsed in St. Albans Thursday afternoon, a witness and the NYPD said.

Police said when they responded at about 2 p.m. to 175th Place near Linden Boulevard just outside the Addisleigh Park section of St. Albans, they found the victim with a single gunshot wound in the head.

The man was taken to Jamaica Hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.

Before he died, a witness said the victim sought help from the home next door to where he lived.

“He was banging on the house over there, bleeding profusely,” said Keith Hutson, who had just parked on the St. Albans street as the victim was knocking.

Hutson, who has been doing work on the street, had become acquainted with the 23-year-old, and when Hutson called to him to see what was wrong, the man began to walk towards Hutson.

“Then he came out into the street and collapsed eventually,” Hutson said.

Hutson said he called 911 and rushed over to the victim.

“By then, he couldn’t speak, and by the time the ambulance came…,” Hutson said, trailing off.

Several loved ones of the victim briefly gathered on Linden Boulevard, and one woman could be heard sobbing before the group abruptly left.

Another man who only identified himself by the initial C. said the victim was a longtime resident of 175th Place.

“He was just one of the guys on the block,” he said. “He was a good kid.”

Hutson said he was shocked by the shooting.

“It’s a very quiet block,” he said.

Police said Thursday afternoon that there were no arrests made.

Reach photo editor Christina Santucci by e-mail at csantucci@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4589.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

A woman who was shot in the head and driven to Elmhurst Hospital Center died Sunday morning, the NYPD said.

At 3:43 a.m., police received a call about a 21-year-old woman with a single gunshot wound to the head, according to police.

Stephanie Taveras, of New Jersey, was pronounced dead upon arriving at the medical center, the NYPD said.

The woman, who was not identified pending family notification, was shot near the intersection of Grand Central Parkway and Northern Boulevard and then transported to the hospital by private means, the NYPD said.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Christina Santucci

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two men were killed when the motorcycle they were both riding on slammed into the front of a bus on 31st Avenue near 73rd Street in East Elmhurst Sunday evening, police said.

As of Monday afternoon, the NYPD had not released the names of the men, who they said were both Hispanic. One was 25 years old, and no age was available for the second man, a spokesman for the Police Department said.

Nearby residents said the motorcycle sounded like it was going very fast and described the sound of the crash around 8 p.m. as similar to an explosion.

“It was like an F16 was flying and then boom right there,” said 42-year-old Nasir Laskar, who has lived on 31st Avenue for the past 15 years.

Laskar said he as soon as he heard the crash, he called 911 and then rushed outside, where he saw both riders of the motorcycle lying on the ground.

“One is still breathing,” he said. “I tell him, ‘Calm down. It will be OK.’ A few seconds later, he opened his eyes very big and then he closed them.”

The force of the crash was so intense that the front door to the Q47 bus, which had been turning onto 73rd Street, could not be opened right away and passengers had to be removed through the back door, witnesses said.

“The front whole windshield is broken,” Laskar said.

One resident who declined to give her name said emergency responders arrived at the scene very quickly.

“They were trying so hard to revive them,” she said.

Only one of the two riders had been wearing a helmet, Laskar said.

Police said both men were taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. No criminality was suspected in the accident, according to a spokesman for the NYPD.

Laskar complained of frequent accidents on 31st Avenue, where he said there are often children playing.

“Let’s say some kids were here, they could kill some kids,” he said.

Jackson Heights resident Camilo Aguirre, 35, one of several bikers who visited the corner to try to find out the identity of the riders, described the Suzuki motorcycle as a supermoto race bike, which is intended for both the street and dirt.

”It’s all light plastics,” Aguirre said, estimating that the bike must have been going about 60 or 70 miles per hour. “If you started stopping from over there, he should have skidded.”

Reach photo editor Christina Santucci by e-mail at csantucci@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4589.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

A federal investigation of a heroin ring found that an officer from the 111th Precinct in Bayside was allegedly supplying information on license plates and narcotics probes to a dealer from Jamaica, the U.S. attorney in Brooklyn said.

Officer Devon Daniels, 30, was arrested Tuesday on charges of unlawful searches of law enforcement databases. He entered no plea at his arraignment in Brooklyn federal court and was released on $150,000 bond with home confinement and electronic monitoring, officials said.

Prosecutors said a wiretap from the federal Drug Enforcement Administration found that Daniels provided police information from the FBI and NYPD databases to Jamaica heroin dealer Guy Curtis, head of the drug-dealing organization Pov City, by running license plate information, providing an official police parking placard and tipping him off with inside information on narcotics investigations. Police said Curtis pleaded guilty to federal charges of conspiring to deal heroin in January.

A criminal complaint filed by the U.S. attorney’s office against Daniels outlined several instances in which the officer responded promptly to the calls of Curtis and his drug ring.

Daniels was suspended without pay Tuesday and faces department sanctions, regardless of the case’s outcome, including termination, police said.

According to the complaint, Daniels also asked favors of his own ranging from money to borrowing Curtis’ vehicles. The wiretap also showed Daniels asking Curtis to help him in acquiring “any working revolver,” the court papers said.

The court documents revealed Curtis had corresponded with the officer on various occasions to ask for advice or sensitive police information about his associates. In one instance, Curtis had asked Daniels how to get “gunshot residue off your hands” and if he could “clap a felon” for him, the complaint said.

Prosecutors said Daniels once drove one of Curtis’ vehicles to the scene where a fellow associate was arrested, The officer identified himself as a cop and asked information of the arresting officer, then relayed what he had learned back to Curtis, the complaint said.

Federal authorities said the investigation had also found that Daniels allowed Curtis to use his bank account to transfer money with Jermaine Ward, a suspected drug dealer in Wichita, Kan. In one instance, Ward wired $3,500 to Daniels’ account before the officer withdrew the funds for Curtis, according to court papers.

The DEA had been investigating the heroin trafficking organization out of Wichita, Kan. since October 2008 with the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau and the Internal Revenue Service, officials said, which led federal investigators to Curtis. They began tapping the officer’s phone in April 2011, according to the complaint, which led to the discovery of Daniels’ involvement.

Upon Curtis’ requests, Daniels would run criminal background checks for the drug dealer to gather license plate information, prosecutors said.

“Yo do them plates real quick,” Curtis texted to Daniels, to which the officer replied, “What u need I got it,” the complaint said.

According to the documents, Daniels would respond to Curtis’ inquiries using the password for his partner.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Property owners in Willets Point are rejoicing after the city dropped its bid last week to use eminent domain in the Iron Triangle, but the decision does not mean the city is turning its back on redevelopment.

The decision came as a surprise to Michael Rikon, a lawyer representing property owners in Willets Point, who was fighting the eminent domain case in court. The city had launched a legal bid to condemn property in the Iron Triangle to make way for the first phase of the $3 billion Willets Point Redevelopment Project, which would take the place of the auto shops and pockmarked streets in the neighborhood.

The project, a hallmark of the Bloomberg administration, would eventually have created a 62-acre commercial hub including a school, movie theater and possibly a convention center across the river from downtown Flushing, although it is not clear what Bloomberg’s plans are now since the city could reopen another eminent domain bid.

“We won,” a jubilant Rikon said May 2.

The city confirmed May 2 that it had dropped its current court case, but said some sort of project was still moving ahead.

“We’re very close to having a deal in place that will transform Willets Point into New York City’s next great neighborhood and continue the historic progress we’ve already made there,” said Julie Wood, spokeswoman for Mayor Michael Bloomberg. “Today’s action ensures that our plan will comply with the site’s myriad technical and legal requirements.”

Reports in The Wall Street Journal indicated that the city altered its plan for the first phase of the project, a 12-acre strip across the street from Citi Field, to include more retail at the behest of Related Co. and Sterling Equities.

The exact nature of the plan could not be independently confirmed, but a source said Related Co. and Sterling Equities were selected to build a mall on the site. Related is headed by Manhattan developer Stephen Ross and Sterling by the Wilpons, who own the New York Mets and Citi Field across from Willets Point.

Rikon signed a document May 2 indicating that the city would be dropping its bid, he said, therefore putting the original project on hold unless property owners were to sell their land to the city so it could continue with the development.

But the stipulations in the document would not prevent the city from attempting to use eminent domain on the property in the future, Rikon said.

Rikon was set to contend in court this week that the city violated the rights of property owners by not providing Spanish language translators at a public hearing. He also argued that the $3 billion redevelopment was not a valid public use.

It was unclear at press time Tuesday evening exactly how the city would proceed with the development, but any new projects would require another public review process.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

A high school for special education students was shut down Wednesday after a 41-year-old man was shot in broad daylight nearby, the NYPD and teachers said.

At about 11 a.m. police responded to a 911 call of a man shot in the leg on the corner of 57th Avenue and 94th Street, right across the street from John F. Kennedy Jr. School, which serves about 450 students with special needs.

Neighbors heard several shots and one woman who lives in an apartment complex across the street said her upstairs neighbor called police before she glanced out her window.

“I saw him hopping on one leg,” said Kirsy Rodriguez, who was making coffee at the time. “A man took off his shirt and wrapped it around his leg.”

Police arrived and blocked off the street in front of the school, where teachers began shuffling the students into predesignated safe areas.

The youths were locked down for about 45 minutes, according to one school employee who did not want to be named, although the students were not as concerned as teachers, who along with police feared the gunman might have run inside.

“We all thought that, too,” said John Serrano, a paraprofessional at the school.

Police discussing the case at the scene said the 41-year-old and another person were crossing the street when a man approached from behind and opened fire.

The 41-year-old man was taken to Elmhurst Hospital, where police said he was expected to live.

The suspect was described as a black male wearing a hooded sweatshirt who fled the scene on foot. No arrests had been made as of Wednesday afternoon, according to the NYPD.

Victor Sanchez said the daylight shooting was highly unusual for the area.

“This never happens in this area,” said Sanchez, an eight-year resident. “It’s not dangerous around here.”

Others said, however, crime sometimes occurs in neighboring areas, including nearby LeFrak Houses.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police were looking for the driver who hit and killed a man crossing Liberty Avenue in Richmond Hill Sunday morning, the NYPD said.

Police could not confirm the make or model of the car, but surveillance footage from a nearby store shows a car hitting 47-year-old Rohan Singh so hard that the Woodhaven man flew into the air and landed in a heap on the sidewalk near the corner of 108th Street.

Police received the call at about 3:15 a.m. Emergency personnel took Singh to Jamaica Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the NYPD.

Later Sunday, Singh’s family came to the scene of the accident and put up a small memorial.

“It’s not right. They hit him and leave him to die in the street,” said Chateram Singh one of the man’s seven siblings. “I can cope with it, but for my mother it is very hard.”

Singh is from Guyana and has a wife and two teenage children living there, his brother said.

According to shop owner Mike Ficco, Singh often came into his store to buy a beer.

“He was a nice guy,” Ficco said as he fielded questions and accommodated a crowd of reporters and neighbors. “I wouldn’t be doing all this if he wasn’t.”

Singh’s family is currently planning funeral arrangements and attempting to get a visa for the slain man’s wife to come to the country.

His brother asked anyone with information to contact the police.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Mets ballplayers aside, Citi Field is finally guaranteed to host a team of all-stars next year.

Major League Baseball awarded the 2013 All-Star Game to the Flushing stadium in an announcement at City Hall on Wednesday with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Mets CEO Fred Wilpon and Mr. Met all in attendance.

The 45,000-capacity ballpark will host the 84th Midsummer Classic next season, tentatively set for Tuesday, July 16.

“Next year’s All-Star Game is going to demonstrate once again that there’s no place like New York for world-class sporting events,” said Bloomberg. “Major League Baseball clearly recognizes this, since they’re bringing the All-Star Game back to New York for the second time in just five years.”

It will be the ninth All-Star Game in baseball history to be played in New York, which is the most of any host city. Old Yankee Stadium hosted the last All-Star Game in the city in 2008, while this will be the first hosted by the Mets since Shea Stadium’s opening season in 1964.

The National League won that game, defeating their American League counterparts, 7-4. The game featured 21 Hall of Famers including Hank Aaron, Mickey Mantle, Sandy Koufax and Willie Mays.

Baseball commissioner Bud Selig said he was proud to award the game to the Mets during this, their golden anniversary season.

“We are delighted to bring the Midsummer Classic to Citi Field, a wonderful ballpark that has carried on the remarkable National League tradition in New York City,” he said. “The Mets will be superb hosts to next summer’s greatest sporting event.”

The All-Star festivities will include more than just the game, as it encompasses three days of events including a homerun derby, a celebrity softball competition and a host of entertainment opportunities.

“Thanks to the efforts of Mayor Bloomberg and Commissioner Selig, it’s a great honor for everyone at the Mets to host the 2013 All-Star Game at Citi Field,” Wilpon said. “Mets fans and all people in the New York tri-state area and beyond will have the opportunity to take part in the events that Major League Baseball will bring to New York.”

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Baccalaureate School for Global Education in Long Island City has been named the best high school in New York state by U.S. News & World Report.

The school, which has Grades 7 though 12, is at 34-12 36th Ave.

The magazine also ranked two other Queens schools in the top 10 for the state. Queens High School for the Sciences at York College, at 94-50 159th St. in Jamaica, was ranked seventh in New York and Townsend Harris High School, at 149-11 Melbourne Ave. in Flushing, was ranked eighth.

The three Queens schools came out ahead of the prestigious Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan, which was ranked ninth, and the Bronx High School of Science, which was ranked 10th.

U.S. News & World Report also ranked the Baccalaureate school No. 21 in the country. Queens High School for the Sciences at York College was ranked No. 52 in the national list of best high schools and Townsend Harris came in right after at No. 53.

The Long Island City school is part of the Swiss nonprofit educational foundation International Baccalaureate. The organization says its educational style is high-quality, spans multiple age groups so students can get a continuous education from the program, encourages international-mindedness and has a positive attitude toward learning.

Based on the Regents, Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams to earn college credit, the Baccalaureate School students were ranked as 100 percent proficient in both English and math and having a College Readiness index of 100.0, U.S. News & World Report said.

By the same criteria, students of Queens High School for the Sciences at York College were ranked as being 100 percent proficient in math and 99 percent proficient in English, with a College Readiness index of 87.0, U.S. News & World Report said.

Townsend Harris students were also ranked as 100 percent proficient in math and English, although the school’s College Readiness index came in at 86.8, U.S. News & World Report said.

Other Queens high schools that were ranked by the magazine among the top 100 in the state included Academy of American Studies, at 28-01 41st Ave. in Long Island City, at No. 49 and Benjamin N. Cardozo High School, at 57-00 223rd St. in Bayside, at No. 83.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Labor negotiations have not reached a tipping point yet at Bayside’s Ozanam Hall nursing home, but members of the UFCW Local 342 union voted Monday to authorize a strike, the group said.

“The members voted ‘yes’ to authorize a strike,” said Kate Meckler, the union’s director of communications. “But that doesn’t mean they are on strike or will strike.”

According to Ozanam Hall management, the home’s financial troubles are rooted in the state’s attempts to reduce Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements. The home said it has negotiated in good faith with the workers union and hopes Local 342 will recognize the financial crisis and long-range implications.

“We understand the employees’ frustration and we have made proposals, which take into account the employees’ needs and the home’s long-term crisis,” Ozanam Hall said in a statement. “So far, the union has rejected our proposals. Neither side has declared an impasse and more negotiations are scheduled.”

Meckler said the union must give 10 days’ notice before a strike, and Monday’s majority vote only gave the union the ability to let Ozanam Hall know that members have authorized a strike if necessary.

A bargaining committee made up of union members would make the final call on whether or not to strike, Meckler said.

“The members are tired and fed up,” Meckler said. “If necessary, we’ll now have the ability to strike.”

The 432-bed facility, at 42-41 201st St., is administered by the Catholic Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and has been serving elderly residents with both short-term rehabilitation and geriatric care in Bayside for more than 30 years..

According to the more than 400 union members at the home, cuts in hours have forced them to take on more work, lessening the quality of care for their patients.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

A drunken livery cab driver hopped the sidewalk in Sunnyside Sunday morning, killing one man before plowing into a row of parked cars in front of a flower shop, according to eyewitnesses and police.

“It’s really heartbreaking,” said 19-year-old John Calle, whose family had the flower shop open all night for Mother’s Day. “He was in agony.”

At about 2:30 a.m., police responded to a call of a pedestrian struck at Greenpoint Avenue and 46th Street.

When they arrived, they found a 24-year-old Hispanic man unconscious after he was struck by a car while standing on the sidewalk, according to the NYPD.

Avedis Sayesh, a 58-year-old man from Brooklyn, was arrested at the scene and charged with vehicular manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide and driving while intoxicated, police said.

Sayesh was driving a cab bearing a Gateway company logo, according to eyewitnesses.

A man who picked up the phone at the livery company said he had heard about the accident and said that it was out of character for Sayesh.

“I’m telling you he was a good driver,” the man said.

Calle and family member Victor Arpi both said the victim was walking with another person who was not injured.

After Sayesh hit one of the men near the corner and smashed into three cars belonging to Calle’s family and friends, he attempted to walk away from the scene, they said.

As bystanders walked Sayesh back to the flower shop to wait for police, he apparently apologized while the man he allegedly hit screamed in agony, his legs badly injured, according to Arpi and Calle.

“It was not easy to see,” Calle said. “You can’t just walk away after you hit someone.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police and firefighters discovered a charred body in Forest Park Saturday morning after responding to a brush fire call, the NYPD said.

Just before 6 a.m., officers responded to a call of a fire in the foliage 30 yards off of Park Lane South near the corner of 86th Street.

After the fire was extinguished, responders made the grisly discovery.

A man who was not identified was found severely burned and pronounced dead at the scene by medical personnel.

By the afternoon, police and the medical examiner had put the man in a body bag and removed him from the scene.

Many neighbors of the sleepy neighborhood were shocked.

“It’s extremely quiet here,” said one woman who did not want to be named, but added that her neighbor called police after she saw flames in the woods early in the morning.

But the woman also said people can be heard drinking and partying in the expansive park late at night, and that sometimes cars along Park Lane South are vandalized at that time.

Yet Ed Wendell, of the Woodhaven Residents Block Association, said he walks through the park at night sometimes and never runs into any unsavory activities.

The medical examiner will determine the cause of death, and the investigation is ongoing.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

A federal judge sentenced a former Queens hospital executive Monday to three years in prison for bribing three state legislators in exchange for lobbying on his institution’s behalf.

As his visibly upset family looked on in Manhattan federal court, David Rosen, former chief executive officer of MediSys Health Network — owner of Jamaica Hospital, Flushing Hospital and Brookdale Hospital — will begin to serve his term Aug. 8, pending an appeal.

Rosen, 64, had been convicted of bribing state Sen. Carl Kruger and state Assemblymen William Boyland Jr., both of Brooklyn, and Queens Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio with hundreds of thousands of dollars in a non-jury trial.

Rosen faced up to 70 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the bribery scheme, but even the reduced sentence he received drew tears from his family members.

“He made this a government not of the people, but of the debauched,” said Manhattan Federal Judge Jed Rakoff as he imposed Rosen’s sentence.

According to the U.S. attorney in Manhattan, Rosen’s illegal actions included more than $400,000 in payments made to Seminerio through a sham consulting company; a no-show job given to Boyland between 2003 and 2008 that paid close to $35,000; and an attempt to bribe Kruger by steering Brookdale to do business with Compassionate Care Hospice, a concern in which Kruger had an interest.

Rosen’s lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz, contended that the hospital executive acted in the best interest of his community and asked that the judge sentence him to community service in lieu of a jail sentence.

Abramowitz said Rosen did everything he could to keep his hospitals open and serving his community. Three Queens hospitals — Parkway, Mary Immaculate and St. John’s — shut their doors between late 2008 and early 2009.

“He [Rosen] didn’t ask officials to steal anything for him. He did not ask them ever — ever to abuse their discretion for him,” said Abramowitz. “David Rosen stands before you having lost his job. He lost his career. He lost his reputation. He lost $3 million in severance. He lost everything.”

During his statements to the judge, Rosen, 64, said he was proud of his 40 years of service to populations in need, specifically those surrounding Jamaica Hospital.

“I took every opportunity to avail myself to improve the care of the largely indigent community around Jamaica Hospital. I tried to rally officials in Albany, but often found myself standing alone,” he said. “I tried with relentless persistence to rally other health care professionals and officials to recognize the plight of the safety net hospitals.”

The judge did laud Rosen’s character and noted that there should be no doubt the former hospital executive’s actions helped to strengthen health care in lower-income neighborhoods.

“There is no doubt Mr. Rosen is a good man in many respects,” said Rakoff. “There is no doubt the people of New York have benefited by his efforts to enhance health care in impoverished communities.”

But the judge said he could not overlook Rosen’s disregard for the law.

“The glaring and rather tawdry truth is Mr. Rosen knowingly and intentionally bribed one legislator after another, month after month and year after year,” he said.

In addition to the prison term, Rakoff sentenced Rosen to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $500 special assessment fee.

Rosen’s team plans to mount an appeal ahead of the Aug. 8 surrender date.

Kruger pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced to seven years in prison, while Boyland was acquitted by a jury in November. Seminerio pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years in prison, but died while serving his sentence.

Dr. Robert Aquino, chief executive of Parkway Hospital in Forest Hills, also bribed Kruger, landing him a prison term of four months after he pleaded guilty.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

In the final nail in the coffin of a notorious political career, former state Sen. and City Councilman Hiram Monserrate pleaded guilty in Manhattan federal court Friday to funneling taxpayer dollars through a nonprofit to finance his 2006 Senate campaign, the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan said.

Monserrate, 44, who served as councilman from 2002-08 and senator from 2009 to early 2010, entered the guilty plea to the October 2010 charges of mail fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.

Monserrate’s sentencing is set for Sept. 14, the U.S. attorney said, and his charges carry a maximum of 20 years in prison each.

The disgraced lawmaker admitted to using more than a third of discretionary funding he allocated to the Corona-based nonprofit Latino Initiative for Better Resources and Empowerment Inc. to pay employees to work on his failed 2006 Senate campaign against incumbent John Sabini, U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara said.

“Today’s guilty plea drives home the message that an elected official who betrays the public trust will be held accountable,” city Department of Investigation Commissioner Rose Gill Hearn said in a statement Friday.

LIBRE’s services included English classes, immigration assistance, job placement programs and health education services. Monserrate had been instrumental in selecting both its staff and board of directors. It shut down in 2008 after the city Department of Youth and Community Development began investigating it.

Monserrate made headlines around the city for a 2008 assault against his girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, which got him booted from the Senate in February 2010, but he was engaged in the fraudulent activity before the domestic incident that ended with Giraldo in the hospital with her face slashed.

After giving $300,000 in 2005 and 2006 to LIBRE, Monserrate used about $109,000 of the funds in 2006 to pay some LIBRE employees to work for his 2006 campaign and collect signatures for him to capture the Democratic Party’s nomination as well as to conduct a voter registration drive through LIBRE where he campaigned, the U.S. attorney said.

After registering the voters in 2006, Monserrate deliberately did not give the voter database to the state Board of Elections until the last minute, which gave his campaign an unfair advantage, the U.S. attorney said.

“Monserrate took money out of the pockets of needy people to fund his own political career,” Bharara said in a statement. “We will continue to pursue and prosecute elected officials who foolishly think that they can corruptly use public money for their own benefit.”

.The former senator had previously employed high-powered defense attorney Joseph Tacopina, who had represented Monserrate during his assault trial, but eventually revealed he could not pay him, as Monserrate had only earned $26,000 from his pension as a former police officer and $3,000 through consulting in 2010.

Tacopina had tried to get the court to appoint him Monserrate’s attorney, but McMahon refused and appointed Manhattan attorney James Neuman instead.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

Hundreds of pint-sized dance hopefuls bounded into Astoria for a free audition with the School of American Ballet at the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts Sunday.

Children packed into the lobby, at 35-12 35th Ave., and were assigned numbers and placed in groups. Smiling and laughing, the youngsters danced, twirled and left the worrying to mom and dad.

“There are some nerves, but they seem like they’re having a lot of fun with this,” said Becca Retter, who brought her daughters Liza, 10, and Bella, 7, from their home in Rego Park.

Retter and her husband Thommie are both dancers as well, and they know that placing too much pressure on young minds can do more harm than good.

“We’re giving them as many classes and opportunities as we can without pushing them so they don’t get burned out,” she said.

The auditions, held by the School of American Ballet, were a great opportunity for those who attended. Professional dancers from SAB were on hand looking for young girls and boys with a passion for focused ballet dancing — and those selected would have a chance to enroll at the famed dance school this fall.

And getting into the school is just the beginning: New York-area children enrolled at SAB are featured annually in the New York City Ballet’s production of “The Nutcracker.”

After they were assigned their numbers, the children were taken upstairs — while the parents stayed behind — in groups of close to 40, where they met Garielle Whittle and Katrina Killian, former dancers with New York City Ballet.

The instructors called up each child individually, examining posture, flexibility and discipline.

“Every child is different, with different skill sets,” said Whittle. “It’s important to judge each one on an individual basis.”

One of those children, 6-year-old Maria Kiforuk jumped as her named was called and skipped up toward the two instructors. Maria’s mother, Liliya, had snuck upstairs to the studio moments before her daughter’s name was called. With a combination of stealth and perfect timing, Liliya was able to watch her daughter bend and flex for the instructors.

“My heart is really going at it,” said Liliya Kiforuk. “I’m so nervous, I can hardly breath.”

When her time with the instructors was up, Maria skipped back in line without a care in the world. Before running off to report back to her husband, Liliya Kiforuk said ballet helps to round out a child’s education.

“It provides discipline a kid her age needs,” said Liliya Kiforuk, whose daughter attends Dance Source Studio in Rego Park. “It also helps with memory. She has to remember certain routines and that helps with education. With each routine her memory is being trained.”

Of course, there are some days her daughter doesn’t want to leave her toys, but Kiforuk said mopey frowns almost always transform into singing and dancing on the way to class.

“On good days she can’t wait to leave the house,” she said. “She sings and dances in the car.”

The young Kiforuk, and the rest of the aspiring ballet dancers, will find out if they made the cut in an e-mail notification May 21.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

It was unexpected but welcome news for two Queens Catholic priests, including one from Floral Park, after Pope Benedict XVI promoted them to auxiliary bishops of the Diocese of Brooklyn, according to Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano.

In an announcement last week, Vigano said Benedict promoted Monsignors Raymond Chappetto, 66, of Our Lady of the Snows in Floral Park, and Paul Robert Sanchez, 65, a vicar for Queens, to bishops after serving much of their lives in Queens.

Both will be ordained at Our Lady of Angels R.C. Church, at 73-20 4th Ave. in Brooklyn, July 11.

“It was totally unexpected,” Chappetto said. “This isn’t something you aspire to. It’s something that’s given to you as a gift.”

Chappetto was born in Astoria and ordained as a priest in 1971. He earned a bachelor of arts and a master of divinity degree from Out Lady of Angels Seminary in the Diocese of Albany and also earned a master’s degree in religious education from St. John’s University.

Chappetto said it was always his goal to serve as a priest and he had done so at various locations in Rockaway Point, Jamaica, Queens Village, Howard Beach and Brooklyn before joining the church at Floral Park in 1999.

“All I ever wanted to do was become a priest,” Chappetto said. “I’m very grateful to God for doing this for me.”

The Diocese of Brooklyn serves nearly 1.4 million Catholics in Queens and Brooklyn.

Sanchez was born in Brooklyn and ordained as a priest in 1971. He had served at various churches in Forest Hills, Woodside, Brooklyn, Astoria and Long Island City before he was named vicar for Queens North in 2008 and vicar for Queens in 2009.

He holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Bonaventure University, a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and a licentiate in theology at North American College in Rome.

Both bishops-elect will join Frank Caggiano and Octavio Cisneros in assisting Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of the Brooklyn/Queens Diocese.

Chappetto said he felt lucky to be given such an opportunity, which he referred to as a major turning point in his life. When asked about his time spent in Floral Park, Chappetto said he was blessed to have worked with such a giving community.

“The people here are warm and friendly,” Chappetto said. “We bonded very well and I will take the memory of the good holy people here with me when I go. They are like family to me.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Police shot and killed an enraged, knife-wielding man last Thursday night after he used the weapon to stab both himself and his wife, the NYPD said.

According to police, officers responded to a 911 call around 8:30 p.m. from a married couple’s 17-year-old daughter that her father stabbed himself in the neck and collapsed. When they arrived at their apartment, at 61-47 223rd Place, near Cardozo High School in Oakland Gardens, police said they saw that Samuel Rivers, 50, had used a knife on both himself and his wife Sharon Rivers, 51, and was standing outside the home.

After refusing to drop the weapon in an outdoor confrontation near the courtyard outside the apartment, officers shot Samuel Rivers in the neck and chest, killing him, police said.

Police said there was no evidence of any previous criminal history for either Samuel Rivers or his wife.

Both were taken to North Shore-LIJ Hospital in Manhasset, L.I., where the husband was pronounced dead on arrival and his wife was listed in critical condition with stab wounds to her chest and neck, police said.

It was unclear whether Samuel Rivers died from the gunshots or self-inflicted knife wounds, police said.

Police recovered the knife from the scene.

Crime tape and spattered blood were still visible at the scene Friday morning as cops said they were still investigating and looking for evidence involving an apparent domestic dispute.

Danny Park, 48, has lived with his family in the upstairs apartment for four years. According to Park, Sharon Rivers lived with her 17-year-old daughter in the downstairs apartment for almost 20 years. He said his neighbors were quiet and all of his passing encounters were friendly.

“I would say ‘hi’ to them all the time,” Park said. “They were always quiet and nice. They never had any problems with us.”

A nearby neighbor who lives on the other side of the courtyard said she heard what sounded like a firecracker early last Thursday night, but did not think it was a gunshot. She said children often play in the area and she never would have guessed that there was a violent dispute across the courtyard.

After hearing the news of what had happened, the neighbor said she was caught off-guard and never suspected such violence so close to home.

“I was devastated to hear the news,” the neighbor said. “I’m thinking this was an isolated incident in this neighborhood. But timing is of the essence. If a kid might have seen that, it could be terrifying to them.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

A College Point family lost their mother to complications stemming from West Nile virus, and they point to standing pools of water and unkempt foliage across the street as the culprit.

Francis Coppola said his mother Maria died March 31 after suffering from an illness related to the West Nile virus for nearly seven months.

“We had such high hopes she was recovering,” Coppola said of his mother, who was 70 years old. “She was like the backbone of our family.”

His mother contracted the virus in September, according to Coppola, and was shuffled around to four different hospitals in the area before she died at New York Hospital Queens.

His mother grew up in Naples, Italy, and came to America after she married Coppola’s father, also named Francis. She came to New York and settled in College Point, working at a clothing factory in Manhattan before running the family restaurant, Coppola’s Pizza, near the corner of 14th Avenue and 132nd Street in College Point.

The city Department of Health confirmed her death and said it is looking into the causes.

“The Health Department is investigating reports of a Queens woman who died from complications of West Nile Virus,” a spokeswoman said. “The department treated all catch basins in College Point three times last year. Aerial larviciding was also conducted three times last season.”

West Nile can take two forms, the first being a typically nonfatal fever, but the virus can also cause fatal complications, including encephalitis and meningitis, which are referred to as neuro-invasive forms of the virus.

The Coppolas said they have complained about standing pools of water across from their mother’s home and unkempt weeds on the property of nearby businesses. They are planning legal action against the businesses there and the city for not responding to their complaints.

College Point is a known haven for mosquitoes carrying West Nile Virus, which is disproportionately fatal to the young and old. In 1999, it was the site of the first known case of the disease in the United States.

Last year, the department reported College Point as just one of two areas where the virus was detected in its last survey covering Aug. 28 to Sept. 16, according to department statistics.

In Queens last year, there were five confirmed cases of West Nile Virus, although a report issued by the Health Department said legions of cases go unreported.

In November, another Queens resident in Whitestone died from complications related to West Nile Virus, according to Coppola, who is organizing a group to bring awareness to the disease and is planning to speak at an upcoming Community Board 7 meeting.

The department outlined a plan to monitor and control the promulgation of mosquitoes infected with West Nile, emphasizing the importance of prevention by eliminating standing water and killing unhatched larvae with pesticide sprays.

But according to a lawmaker who toured the site across from Maria Coppola’s home and another down the street, the city is not taking standing water complaints seriously enough.

“The city has to take a more aggressive approach to West Nile,” said state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside), who said complaints by neighbors often never get past the initial stage of issuing a warning letter to the offending property owner.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Three candidates for the new Queens congressional seat based in Flushing discussed their platforms at a forum last week, while behind-the-scenes legal battles played out in State Supreme Court.

The forum was hosted by the North East Flushing Civic Association last Thursday at Holy Cross High School, near the corner of 29th Avenue and 170th Street.

President Peter Brancazio said he only invited the three “serious” Democratic candidates to participate: state Assembly members Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) and City Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village). Dr. Robert Mittman, a Bayside allergist, was not invited to speak.

Familiar Democratic stances were offered to the 30 or so people who had gathered, including support for Medicare, the Affordable Care Act, energy independence, jobs and senior centers.

Meng discussed her ability to bridge the gap between new immigrants to America and the population already living here. She also said she would like to improve infrastructure in the state. Funding could come back to the state if out-of-state lawmakers who fund-raise in New York are required to put some money back, she said.

Meng mentioned the Dream Act, which would give the children of illegal immigrants a path to citizenship. When asked how she would make the transition from state to federal government, she said she would focus on being a good community liaison.

Lancman spoke next and pointed out that he differed from the Democratic Party on some issues, describing himself as more supportive of the military than many of his colleagues.

Faced with a pointed question about the United Nations Human Rights Council, Lancman said he would do more to ensure American funds are not wasted on a body he called “anti-American and anti-Semitic.”

Lancman also discussed his support for narrowing the gap between tax rates and his desire to eliminate any difference between capital gains taxes, which are earned on investments, and normal income taxes.

In response to a question about how to rein in ballooning pension costs across the country, Crowley said if the nation puts more people back to work, those workers will eventually pay back into the system.

To reduce the country’s energy consumption, Crowley said she supports hydrofracking as long as it is not done near sources of drinking water.

The councilwoman also said that while she supports the president and the troops, soldiers need to immediately come home from Afghanistan.

Mittman was not at the forum, but Tuesday evening a member of his campaign was at the city Board of Elections as the allergist faced increased scrutiny of his petitions. In response to further challenges by Lancman, the board will pour over the 1,200 signatures that survive out of more than 2,500 Mittman initially collected.

If the board finds more than 300 additional signatures do not meet the requirement, Mittman will be tossed from the ballot.

Television producer Juan Sheng, who was knocked off the ballot due to insufficient signatures, filed a countersuit against Meng’s camp, her campaign said, although she will not try to get back on the Democratic ticket.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

Dr. Robert Aquino, former chief executive officer of Parkway Hospital, was sentenced to four months in prison Tuesday for bribing former state Sen. Carl Kruger in an effort to keep the Forest Hills institution open.

Aquino pleaded guilty to federal bribery charges in January, admitting he bribed the former senator in exchange for Kruger’s lobbying on the Forest Hills hospital’s behalf in Albany. Kruger pleaded guilty to taking bribes in December and was sentenced in April to seven years in prison.

“Instead of pursuing legitimate political process to try to keep Parkway Hospital open, CEO Robert Aquino resorted to bribery,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “Aquino’s ill-conceived plan to corruptly influence the political process has him bound for prison. As today’s sentence demonstrates, like others before it, those who engage in public corruption will not go unpunished.”

In addition to prison, U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff sentenced Aquino to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay a $100 special assessment fee.

When Parkway was slated for closure in 2008, Aquino had the hospital pay $60,000 to Adex Management Inc., a marketing firm in which Kruger had an interest. According to Bharara, Aquino understood that in exchange for making payments to Adex, Kruger would use his standing as senator to help keep Parkway open.

Aquino was initially charged in March 2011 along with seven others, including Kruger; Michael Turano, a consultant with Olympian Strategic Development Corp,; Richard Lipsky, a lobbyist; Solomon Kalish, the owner of Adex; real estate developer Aaron Malinsky; state Assemblyman William Boyland Jr.; and David Rosen, former chief executive officer of Jamaica Hospital and MediSys Health Network.

Adex Management also funneled bribes to Kruger from Rosen, according to the U.S. attorney’s office.

In September, Rosen was convicted of a scheme to bribe Kruger, Boyland and late state Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio. He was sentenced on Monday to three years in prison by a Manhattan federal court judge.

After a three-week bench trial in September, Rosen was found guilty of ordering MediSys, which owns Jamaica, Flushing and Brookdale hospitals, to pay more than $400,000 to Seminerio between 1999 and 2008. He was also found to have participated in bribing Kruger with close to $1 million with Aquino the other defendants. Rosen also bribed Boyland with a no-show consulted job that paid him $35,000, according to the U.S. District Attorney’s office.

In exchange for the funds, Seminerio, Boyland and Kruger advocated on Rosen’s behalf with state agencies, co-sponsored legislation to benefit MediSys and lobbied on the health system’s behalf in its effort to acquire St. John’s Hospital in Elmhurst and Mary Immaculate Hospital in Jamaica, which at the time were owned by Caritas.

Seminerio pleaded guilty to mail fraud and was sentenced to six years in a North Carolina prison in February 2010. He died in January 2011 while appealing the decision.

Turano pleaded guilty in December and was sentenced in April to two years in prison. Kalish pleaded guilty in January and wascheduled to be sentenced on May 22. Lipsky was slated to be sentenced on Sept. 12 and Boyland was acquitted by a jury in November. Malinsky entered into a deferred prosecution agreement, agreeing to fully cooperate with the investigation.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

A committee of seven has been tasked with finding nearly 450 graduates of a Fresh Meadows high school that no longer exists. Members of the Bishop Reilly High School class of 1971 have organized a reunion set for early next month with hopes of bringing everyone together again.

“It’s always great to see your old classmates and what becomes of them,” said John Peiser, an organizer of the 41st reunion. “It’s an amazing thing. You find that you immediately reconnect and it’s as if you had been talking to each other yesterday.”

The Bishop Reilly High School once thrived where St. Francis Preparatory School now stands, at 61-00 Francis Lewis Blvd. Only eight years after it opened, the Diocese of Brooklyn sold Bishop Reilly HS in the late 1970s, making it difficult for graduates to find old classmates for reunions.

But that is not stopping Peiser and his classmates from organizing this year’s 41st-year high school reunion.

The class will gather at a combination picnic and New York Mets baseball game June 2 at Citi Field in Flushing. The picnic is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. inside the Bullpen Plaza before the game’s 4:10 p.m. start. A full section in right field was reserved for the group, Peiser said.

Peiser said the group tried arranging a reunion last year to mark 40 years since graduation, but a date was never confirmed.

According to Peiser, the class also secured a donation from a classmate’s employer, Hugh O’Kane Electric, to defray expenses and provide tickets to graduates who had entered the religious life.

But the biggest task, Peiser said, has been finding and contacting his former classmates.

“We spent an entire weekend going through Google searches trying to find and local people,” Peiser said. “We found we were successful for about 75 percent of the people on the boys’ side. But the girls’ side has been more difficult.”

Since the school was separated between genders, he said finding the men has been much easier considering that women often change their names when they are married.

That is where class of 1971 graduate Liz Perillo Pennisi came in.

Perillo Pennisi’s assignment is to find more than 200 of her former female classmates.

“It’s been a lot of fun. When you get to be this many years away from graduation, people really spread out,” she said. “I’m really excited to bring it all together.”

Perillo Pennisi said the class of 1971 organized a reunion in 1981 and it was much easier to find her classmates after 10 years.

“This is a pretty big undertaking,” she said. “We want to get as big a turnout as we can. I’d love to see at least 200 of our classmates, considering there were more than 450 graduates between the girls and boys.”

She said that though she has been a lifelong Mets fan, the reunion is what is important.

Classmates looking for more information on the reunion can visitbishopreillyhighschool1971reunion.vzwebsites.com or call Peiser at 917-881-9930.

“It’s nice that after all these years we will still get together like it was yesterday,” Perillo Pennisi said. “Only this time, we won’t be wearing uniforms.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

A man named Chieu Nguyen walked into the College Point state Department of Motor Vehicles office March 27 and applied for a learner’s permit using forged documents purchased in the Bronx, according to a criminal complaint from the Queens district attorney’s office.

An inspector noticed the fake Social Security and green cards presented by Nguyen, and the 33-year-old man from Vietnam was arrested, charged with using forged documents, and eventually handed over to immigration officials, but many more cases in New York state go unnoticed by DMV inspectors.

Instead of relying on humans to spot fakes, the department has rolled out a new computer program that can see past even the most convincing forgeries.

“We’re really impressed with the results we’ve gotten from this,” said Owen McShane, who made a presentation to members of the community and Community Board 7 at a meeting earlier this year.

Thousands of New York residents create multiple identities which they can use to circumvent restrictions of their driving licenses or collect entitlement benefits, like welfare and Social Security, according to McShane.

A year after its inception in February 2010, the system had already caught 150 cases of identity theft, 5,500 people with multiple licenses and one person who was on the terrorist watch list who would have made it back into the country undetected if it were not for the computer algorithm.

The program works by taking measurements of a person’s facial features. When the precise distances between, for example, the corners of the eyes or the size of the ears are complied into one group representing a face, the computer can pick out a fraud — even if that person is incognito.

Currently, each time that a picture is taken for a license, the measurements are taken and screened against the 16 million people in the database. Each day, according to McShane, the system turns up about 400 potential matches that the department narrows down to about five frauds.

In one of the most serious cases, the program caught a former Queens man who was on the terrorist watch returning to the country from Egypt. The man claimed he had a religious objection to being fingerprinted at the border and was let into the country, but could not hide the features of his face when he applied for his third New York license, according to McShane, who related other egregious violations.

In one instance, a man was caught trying to apply for a commercial bus license. After the computer flagged his picture, agents discovered the man had six DWIs on his other identities.

“Not the person you want driving your kids to school in the morning,” McShane said.

In another instance, a taxi driver was caught trying to apply for a new license after his other one had been suspended when he drunkenly chased someone down with his yellow cab and hit them four times.

Other drivers had hundreds of suspensions or racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.

In some cases, the program caught people taking advantage of the entitlement systems in New York state and beyond.

Last year officers wanted to arrest a woman who used five different identities to collect more than $500,000 in state and federal benefits over a four-year period — they had to wait until she returned from vacation in the Bahamas to slap cuffs on her.

The program has also been able to catch other foreign nationals who fell through the cracks of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, including immigrants who have been deported for violent felonies and re-entered the country under a false name, trying to get a New York license.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

With the Oratorio Society of Queens’ 85th anniversary spring concert scheduled for this weekend, Artistic Director and Conductor David Close said he was excited to finally see all the hard work leading up to the event come to fruition.

“There’s a whole mechanism that goes on behind the scenes and it all culminates with that final performance,” Close said.

The group, founded in 1927, is the oldest and longest-running musical institution in the borough, he said.

And to celebrate 85 years, the chorus will perform Beethoven’s “Mass in C, Op. 86” as well as a special Armed Forces salute, African-American spirituals and opera highlights Sunday at 4 p.m. in the Queensborough Performing Arts Center at Queensborough Community College.

Close said there was a little something for everybody this year, making the concert dynamic and appealing.

“We find this style of programming makes it possible for lots of people to have something they can enjoy,” Close said. “We wanted to include a wide spectrum of people and give everyone a really good show.”

The Oratorio Society, an 85-year-old community chorus made up of more than 120 members, performs under Close’s direction. Soloists for the spring concert also include soprano Geraldine McMillian, mezzo-soprano Patricia Cay, tenor John Easterlin and bass-baritone Vaughn Fritts.

“We have committed to taking our little corner of the world here and making this music as available and accessible to a broad range of the population,” Close said.

The artistic director said the spring concert took several months of weekly choral meetings and the task of managing more than 100 performers.

But all the hard work, he said, pays off when the group provides concert-goers with an experience they will not get through new media and did not have to trek into Manhattan to obtain.

“The most exciting part is when the audience sees the show because that’s the reason we do it,” Close said. “Hopefully, they enjoy it and cheer and we feel like we’ve served them by serving the music and, as a result, serving ourselves.”

QCC is at 222-05 56th Ave. in Bayside. Ticket prices at the box office are $25 for general admission, $20 for seniors and students with ID and children 12 and under are admitted for free if accompanied by an adult.

For more information, call the Oratorio Society of Queens at 718-279-3006 or visit queensoratorio.org.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The wrong-way driver who fled the state after causing the death of beloved Maspeth bar owner George Gibbons was sentenced to up to seven years in prison Monday, the Queens district attorney said.

Peter Rodriguez, 37, kept his eyes trained on the floor of Queens Criminal Court while members of Gibbons’ family read victim impact statements aloud ahead of Judge Dorothy Chin-Brandt’s ruling, according to one family member.

“The day he was killed was my birthday,” Gibbons’ brother, Brendan recalled saying in court. “I will never forget, every year on my birthday, what Peter Rodriguez took from me.”

Rodriguez at one point said the death of Gibbons, who was killed at 6:50 a.m. Oct. 15, was an accident, according to Gibbons’ brother.

Rodriguez was speeding in a 2002 gray Chrysler Sebring the wrong way down the eastbound Long Island Expressway service road when he collided head-on with a Lincoln livery cab, according to the DA.

Gibbons, 37, was thrown against the dashboard and was later pronounced dead from trauma to the head, the DA said, while the livery cab driver suffered head and neck injuries.

Rodriguez and a passenger both fled the scene, but the passenger later returned and was treated for injuries, according to the DA.

Rodriguez, though, went on the lam, the DA said.

A month later, acting on an anonymous tip, the U.S. Marshals New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Rodriguez, who already had a lengthy rap sheet, in Connecticut. He was subsequently brought back to Queens.

The sentence will not bring George Gibbons back, his brother said, but the fact that Rodriguez will do time is a small comfort, he said.

Last month Rodriguez pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene of an accident, the DA said.

The 3 1/2 to seven years was the maximum sentence allowed by law, but a group of Queens lawmakers want to change that.

City Council members Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) stood on the steps of the courthouse to call on the state Legislature to pass a bill that would increase the penalties for anyone who leaves the scene of an accident.

When motorists flee accidents, there is no way for police to determine if they were under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to the bill.

It had been proposed once before and passed the state Senate last year, but died in the state Assembly earlier this year. It was not immediately clear what killed the bill.

But the legislation has been reintroduced and, according to the lawmakers could ensure negligent drivers are held responsible.

“Right now our system fails to adequately hold criminally negligent drivers accountable for their actions,” Crowley said in a statement. “I will continue to work with the Gibbons family and the Maspeth community to call on the state Assembly to pass and Gov. Cuomo to sign this important bill.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

A historic building in Queens has seen its fair share of events — a century-and-a-half worth, to be exact.

Flushing Town Hall celebrated its 150th anniversary last weekend with a full schedule of activities aimed at demonstrating the cultural diversity of Flushing and the borough at large.

“The cultural diversity of Queens is on display right here in this building,” said Betsy Enright, director of external affairs for the hall, which was built in 1862. “We have Spanish artifacts in one room and traditional Korean drumming in the next room — it’s amazing.”

Enright said the anniversary comes at an opportune time since Flushing Town Hall, at 137-35 Northern Blvd., is one of 40 sites across the five boroughs vying for $3 million in grants. The top four vote-getters will have their projects fully funded and several runners-up will divide the rest.

People can vote once a day until May 21 at partnersinpreservation.com and Enright urged residents to “vote as many times as possible.” Flushing Town Hall is seeking repairs to its Romanesque windows.

The Partners in Preservation program, a collaboration of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express, selects a different city each year for the grant.

During Day 1 of its anniversary celebration, the hall hosted numerous Flushing residents — many of them children — who watched in awe as a group of Korean drummers pounded out beats in rapid fury.

“It’s so loud and fast,” said Kyun Gae, 11, who came to the hall with his mother, Keum.

“This is a great expression of history,” she said. “And it’s not just about Korean history, but really it’s about Queens history. It makes me proud to be both Korean and from Queens.”

The lower level of the hall displayed hundreds of drawings by Queens schoolchildren who were asked to express what the Flushing Town Hall meant to them. Enright said the drawings were as varied as the cultures of Flushing.

“The drawings are all so fantastic we had to hang them all up,” she said, as children sat drawing even more pictures for the hall to display.

Flushing Town Hall is the premier venue for music and arts in northern Queens, according to Shawn Choi, who works at the hall. The Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts welcomes local artists in the hall’s gallery and stages concerts in the Great Hall.

“The hall brings cultures together,” Choi said. “When you come here, you rethink the overall culture of the community — there’s a lot more here than one might think.”

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Federal Aviation Administration cleared plans to build a 16-story, mixed-use building around the landmarked lobby of the RKO Keith’s Theatre in downtown Flushing last week.

The project had been held up by concerns that it might have interfered with planes approaching LaGuardia Airport.

The green light from the FAA marks the end of a long application process for Patrick Thompson, the developer of the project.

He originally received confirmation from the city Board of Standards and Appeals to go ahead with the redevelopment last summer. The 162-foot structure would incorporate the beloved and landmarked RKO Keith’s Theatre lobby into the design, which also includes plans for 357 residential units and 8,000 square feet of retail space.

But on Sept. 23, the FAA issued Thompson’s lawyer, Howard Goldman, a letter saying the structure might interfere with the airport’s safe operation and that an investigation was needed.

Initially, that investigation was completed in December, but was not made final after a Virginia man filed an objection challenging the decision.

At the 11th hour Christian Kellberg, who has since testified at Community Board 7 about the dangers of having the building in the flight path of LaGuardia Airport, submitted a packet containing several reasons why he believed the project should have been disapproved.

It took the FAA several months, but on April 30 the agency sent Kellberg a letter alerting him that his objections have been overruled, which was a relief to developer Patrick Thompson.

“I am now free to finalize and complete the financing with the current partners and banks, and will begin constructing in the very near future,” Thompson said in a statement.

The FAA’s approval is valid until Oct. 30, 2013, which means Thompson must begin construction by then or go through the approval process all over again.

Recently, he put up a set of blue scaffolding along the front face to protect any pedestrians from crumbling pieces of the outer walls, according to a spokesman for Thompson.

But before any real work can be done, the developer and his team will need to submit new plans and permits to the city Department of Buildings to start tearing down the structure while preserving the lobby.

At a recent meeting, a DOB representative said the city has been trying to set up a meeting with Thompson to have a walk-through of the crumbling structure in order to let firefighters know what they are up against should the trashed interior suddenly catch fire.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Hipsters who are moving into the neighborhoods of western Queens are pulling inspectors from the city Department of Buildings away from their usual hot spots in the eastern part of the borough, according to the department.

At a recent meeting hosted by Community Board 7, which encompasses the neighborhoods of Flushing, Whitestone, College Point, Bay Terrace, Queensboro Hill, Auburndale and Murray Hill, community liaison Anthony Iuliano said the board typically has one of the highest numbers of monthly complaints in the borough, which is not surprising.

Typically, the bulk of complaints about anything having to do with broken or decrepit buildings has been focused in eastern Queens, Iuliano said — that is, until the demographics in neighborhoods like Long Island City, Astoria and Jackson Heights began to change, he added.

“There is a trend in western Queens. Where there aren’t relatively many complaints that come through the 311 system, we’ve seen every community board start to spike,” he said at a recent meeting.

Iuliano wrestled with how exactly to describe the spike before attributing it to hipsters, whom he said were “more active in the community, observe things more in the community and call in complaints.”

The word “hipster” is often associated with gentrification movements that have transformed neighborhoods around the city, bringing service industry amenities, including restaurants and bars along with them, and edging out traditional inhabitants or taking over areas once used for manufacturing.

In this case, Iuliano decided on the term after clarifying that The New York Times had used it first.

Specifically, he was referring to the changing populations of western neighborhoods, especially Long Island City, which even Mayor Michael Bloomberg hopes will become a new business hub with the construction of new condos, office buildings and the addition of anchor businesses like JetBlue and Citi Group.

So far this year, community boards representing Long Island City, Astoria, Sunnyside, Woodside, Jackson Heights and parts of Elmhurst and Corona had a total of 449 complaints in January, 430 in February and 597 in March, according to a complaint database kept by DOB.

Community boards representing Flushing, Whitestone, Bayside, Glen Oaks and other eastern Queens neighborhoods filed a total of 556 complaints in January, 407 in February and 604 in March.

The gap between complaints has narrowed between March of this year and last, when the western boards logged 595 complaints compared to the east’s 677, although many months saw sporadic spikes in the numbers.

The DOB has less than five full-time inspectors for the entire borough of Queens, according to a lawmaker on the City Council Committee on Land use, although the department has at least 20 to 30 part-times inspectors. That means the most active boards, which along with CB 7 includes the greater Jamaica board of CB 12, will have to make due with less manpower.

“Now we’re going to have to share a little bit more, so we’ll have to see how that works out,” he said.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s $68.7 billion proposed budget poses no threats to teaching positions, the cuts to firehouses, after-school programs and the library’s budget have some in Queens rallying for another fight.

“We still have this deficit that we’re going to have to approach,” Bloomberg said during his presentation of the budget last Thursday.

The makeup of the new budget is $68.7 billion, with $49.2 billion funded by city dollars. Bloomberg said $6.2 billion has been saved through 11 rounds of cuts made across all of the city’s agencies since 2007, and that additional revenues would be coming from the sales of yellow cab medallions and $300 million that will be received only after the city and the United Federation of Teachers union agrees on new teacher evaluations.

Nevertheless, Bloomberg said numerous cost-cutting measures were implemented in the budget to stave off a $2 billion gap. He said while tax revenues have grown, they have risen at a weaker rate than expected.

Personal income, business, sales and real estate taxes accounted for $24.2 billion in fiscal year 2012 and would climb to $25.2 billion, or $1 billion more, in the upcoming fiscal year 2013, according to the budget projections. The city has had to pay more for education and capital construction, but has spent less in other parts of the budget.

In previous years, Bloomberg threatened to balance the budget through teacher layoffs, firehouse closings and reductions in library hours, triggering protests at firehouses and libraries across Queens. While fiscal year 2013’s budget will allow for an increase in the number of teachers in the system, it calls for the closing of 20 firehouses and shortened library hours as well as eliminating some early childhood care and after-school programs.

State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) criticized this plan in an extensive statement as “irresponsible.”

“The mayor’s proposed budget is out of touch with the struggles of working New Yorkers and closes the city’s deficit on the backs of our children and first responders,” Meng said.

Thomas Galante, chief executive officer of the Queens Library, said the executive budget would cut the Queens Library’s funds by $26.7 million. Such a slashing would require that 18 of the system’s 62 libraries would have to close, more than 600 library workers could lose their jobs, no libraries would have Sunday service and most libraries would be closed four to five days a week, with only the Jamaica Library open Saturdays.

“New Yorkers need public library doors open. Demand for library services continues to stay strong, even with the effects of the past lean years,” Galante said. “We need the budget cut restored and we need it included in future city budgets so we can turn our full attention to serving the community.”

In response to questions about how the cuts would affect city services, Bloomberg contended that the city has done more with less and is committed to making sure the streets are safe and the most vulnerable residents are not left without food or shelter.

“Sometimes more equipment or more people don’t always get you better service,” he said.

Bloomberg projected a $3 billion budget gap in fiscal year 2014.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

It’s time to “Dream Big” in Queens as the Big Apple Circus launches its annual event later this month fully equipped with jugglers, horses, dogs, acrobats, magic and more. The new 34th season show will feature the Flying Cortes trapeze act, a staple of the event.

Brothers Alex and Robinson Cortes will soar under the Big Apple Circus Big Top, at Cunningham Park, alongside 10-year-old Ysabella Wallenda-Cortes, who comes from eight generations of circus performers on her mother’s side and five generations on her father’s.

As one of the act’s flyers, Alex Cortes spun his way through three-ring circuses such as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey and the Tarzan Zerbini Circus before landing at the Big Apple Circus with his family.

His biggest thrill, he said, was interacting with the crowd inside the tent.

“They can see your facial expressions, so you can really show the audience how you feel,” he said.

To make this year’s performance special, Alex Cortes said he would introduce a new move and potentially become the ninth man in the world to ever complete a “triple and a half” flying stunt.

The Cortes family comes from Colombia and has a generations-long history in circus performance. Alex Cortes first started flying into his father Edmundo’s arms at age 6. Years later, brother Robinson Cortes took over his father’s role as main catcher.

“It’s who we are, not a career choice, it’s what we were meant for,” Alex Cortes said. “Above all, you have to love it.”

Alida Wallenda-Cortes coordinates much of the group’s choreography and said her family’s rich history of performing makes the show a bonding experience. After growing up watching her family perform on the high wire, Wallenda-Cortes said she was more than happy to pass the tradition down to her daughter Ysabella Wallenda-Cortes.

“We enjoy working together as a family,” she said. “But more importantly, we feel that we provide the audience with something that everyone can enjoy.”

Ysabella Cortes said she was most excited to be traveling and performing with family. In the circus act, she flies through the air and showcases her three signature tricks.

“I’ve learned a lot while performing with my family,” Ysabella Cortes said. “My favorite part is getting to fly in front of so many people.”

The Flying Corteses practice together throughout the year with long rehearsals three days a week while performing.

Her father Robinson Cortes is the group’s catcher, comes from 35 years of circus experience and said the Flying Cortes act was only one of the many featured attractions available at the Big Apple Circus. He said he felt lucky to be traveling the country with his family to amaze crowds with their airborne act.

“Being together as a family is the best part of performing,” Robinson Cortes said. “It’s a tradition we all want to keep alive.”

“Dream Big” by the Big Apple Circus begins May 22 and runs for 43 performances through June 17 under the Big Top at Cunningham Park, at 196-22 Union Tnpk. in Fresh Meadows. Tickets start at $15 and are available by calling 1-888-541-3750 or at bigapplecircus.org.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

The remains of some of the earliest settlers in Queens rest in an empty lot in Fresh Meadows — and residents are trying to keep it that way.

Residents, elected officials and civic leaders rallied in front of the Brinckerhoff Cemetery, on 182nd Street and 73rd Avenue, to call on the city to declare landmark status for the historic burial ground.

“We are making this appeal on behalf of the residents of our neighborhood to retain the portion of our city’s past while maintaining the character of our community and our quality of life — instead of giving in to developers with profit motives,” said James Gallagher, president of the Fresh Meadows Homeowners Civic Association.

The cemetery, long since overgrown, was a private plot used by the Brinckerhoff family — considered some of the earliest settlers of Queens — between the 1730s and 1890s. Close to 80 bodies are believed to be buried at the site.

The city Landmarks Preservation Commission was scheduled to hold a hearing about the property Tuesday, when the commission will consider whether or not to landmark the site.

History and preservation advocates have been trying to secure landmark protection for the property for more than a dozen years, ever since former owner Ralph DeDomenico, of Florida, first began looking to develop the property for two houses, according to the civic organization.

His father, Joseph, purchased the property from the city in the 1950s after it had been seized for tax debts. The DeDomenico family sold the property to Ledan Cai for $105,000 in 2000.

Cai could not be reached for comment.

Advocates for the cemetery said the site should be valued for its historical significance and restored so it can be used for educational purposes. State Sen. Toby Stavisky (D-Whitestone), a former schoolteacher, said the site is an invaluable resource for area schoolchildren.

“We can instill a sense of history in our young people so they can understand a little bit about their past,” she said. “This is not an abandoned property, this is a cemetery and it should be treated like one.”

Also on hand at the rally were City Council members Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria), Elizabeth Crowley (D-Middle Village) and Jim Gennaro (D-Fresh Meadows), as well as state Assembly members Grace Meng (D-Flushing) and Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest).

Gennaro said the city has an obligation to preserve the past and respect those who inhabited Queens in the early days before development.

“There is a sacred obligation. There are people buried here and it’s really not much more complicated than that,” he said. “This site should never be developed.”

Lancman said he hopes city officials will show some basic human decency and prevent the site from being developed.

“It seems that not even the dead are safe from a developer’s desire to make a quick buck while imposing a burden on the surrounding community,” Lancman said. “This is historic, hallowed ground that deserves a landmark — it’s not a scrap of land for some developer to turn into a McMansion.”

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) hopes a proposed bill allocating $70 billion to teachers and first responders around the country will pass with presidential support, although a nearly identical piece of legislation did not gain enough support to even come to a vote in the Democratically led U.S. Senate last year.

“We believe this is an emergency and needed to help state and local governments,” Crowley said at a news conference across the street from the College Point Police Academy currently under construction.

He was joined by leaders from FDNY and NYPD unions as well as the United Federation of Teachers.

The bill would allocate $30 billion in funds for teacher salaries and $5 billion for police and fire funding per year. New York state would receive some $1.7 billion over two years, with the Big Apple raking in $1.2 billion of that money.

Crowley said the extra cash would be a shot in the arm to help reduce crime and class sizes all over America.

The piece of legislation is similar to another bill proposed in the Senate last year.

“We don’t control the House, so we believe the support has to be driven by the Senate,” Crowley said, adding that with the support of President Barack Obama he hopes the bill will pass.

But the Senate bill did not even make it to a vote, facing opposition from every Republican and two Democrats, who said they would not support the measure because it was being paid for by a 0.5 percent surtax on the incomes of Americans who make $1 million or more.

This time around, the only differences between Crowley’s bill and the Senate bill is that the new proposal would allocate funds for two years instead of one and cost twice as much. Additionally, the money allocated to the first responders would be able to be used for a wider range of expenditures.

The Crowley bill does not yet have a plan to pay for the $70 billion, since Congress was not in session when he held the conference and plans to pay for expenditures are typically added later in the process.

The proposed bill is a part of Obama’s $447 billion American Jobs Act, which was broken up into smaller pieces like the Crowley legislation after efforts to pass it all at once were hampered by Senate Republicans who voted unanimously to oppose it.

Crowley insisted the deja vu bill was not specifically designed to create ammunition for the Democratic Party in an election year, although he added that if Republicans do not back it, voters will hear about it.

“The reality is some things are an emergency and need to be dealt with in this fashion,” he said. “If they don’t support it, we will use it against them.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Philip Newman

TimesLedger Newspapers

The MTA has come under fire for what critics call an intolerably long process in replacing MetroCards lost by the elderly and disabled.

“This is madness,” said Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, considered a possible candidate for mayor next year. “It should not take months and months for senior citizens or people with disabilities to get a lost or stolen MetroCard back in their hands.”

Stringer, U.S. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), City Councilwoman Gail Brewer (D-Manhattan) and state Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) took part in a news conference last week outside the subway station at 72nd Street and Broadway.

“It can take as long as three months to get a replacement for a MetroCard,” Stringer said. “We’re asking them [the Metropolitan Transportation Authority] to just issue a temporary card for these months until their bureaucracy can issue them the permanent card again.”

But MTA officials said a temporary card would only add another level of production and prolong the time taken to replace the original fare card.

Charles Seaton, an MTA spokesman, said the agency recently hired more people to take care of a backlog of claims of missing MetroCards. The agency had carried out layoffs in 2010, a time of cutbacks in the transit system.

Stringer said the loss of cards for seniors “means paying with exact change [$1.10] on buses and proving their age to bus or subway employees or paying full fare.”

“For many on a tight budget, paying full fare is a serious matter,” Stringer said.

The half-fare MetroCard issued to people over 65 and to disabled people carries a photo of the holder on its left side and a large R, for “reduced fare,” on the right.

Special MetroCards for senior citizens and the disabled are not sold at subway token booths or vending machines but obtained only after the MTA accepts and confirms age and other conditions of the people who apply for a card.

Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Tensions surrounding ongoing labor negotiations at Bayside’s Ozanam Hall nursing home mounted as members of the UFCW Local 342 union voted last week to authorize a strike, the group said.

Labor negotiations at Ozanam Hall have been ongoing since the previous contract expired in 2010 due to what the home’s management attributed to cuts in Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements.

The union voted May 7 to authorize a strike, providing them with an additional tool at the bargaining table, the union said.

“The members voted ‘yes’ to authorize a strike,” said Kate Meckler, the union’s director of communications. “But that doesn’t mean they are on strike or will strike.”

Meckler said the union must give 10 days’ notice before a strike, and last week’s majority vote only gave the union the ability to let Ozanam Hall know that members have authorized a strike if necessary.

The Ozanam management said Medicaid and Medicare reimbursements have been reduced by more than $7 million since April 2009.

“This crisis is especially severe in nursing homes in New York,” Ozanam Hall said in a statement. “The state has savagely cut nursing home reimbursement for Medicaid and Medicare services, which cover the great majority of residents in the homes.”

The home said it has negotiated in good faith with the workers union and hopes Local 342 will recognize the financial crisis and long-range implications.

“We understand the employees’ frustration and we have made proposals, which take into account the employees’ needs and the home’s long-term crisis,” Ozanam Hall said in a statement. “So far, the union has rejected our proposals. Neither side has declared an impasse and more negotiations are scheduled.”

But according to Meckler, the home’s cuts have resulted in a decrease in care for its more than 400 residents.

“The members are tired and fed up,” Meckler said. “If necessary, we’ll now have the ability to strike.”

A bargaining committee made up of union members would make the final call on whether or not to strike, Meckler said.

The union announced Tuesday they would join with representatives from the office of state Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) Friday, May 18 at 11 a.m. for a press conference outside Ozanam Hall to share stories and sign a letter addressed to Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, head of the Brooklyn Diocese, to address their concerns.

The 432-bed facility, at 42-41 201st St., is administered by the Catholic Carmelite Sisters for the Aged and Infirm and has been serving elderly residents with both short-term rehabilitation and geriatric care in Bayside for more than 30 years.

According to the more than 400 union members at the home, cuts in hours have forced them to take on more work, lessening the quality of care for their patients.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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TimesLedger Newspapers

Four firefighters sustained minor injuries battling a two-alarm blaze in Bayside Tuesday afternoon and were taken to North Shore Long Island Jewish Health System to be treated, fire officials said.

A spokesman for the FDNY said no residents were injured in the fire, which gutted a home on 206th Street near 48th Avenue, but one firefighter said a cat died in the blaze.

Fire officials said a call came in about the fire at about 4 p.m. and the blaze was upgraded to a second-alarm at 4:11 p.m. More than 100 firefighters generally respond to a second-alarm fire.

As firefighters checked for remaining pockets of flames, pieces of wet and charred furniture, as well as belongings including DVDs, were collected in a pile on the home’s front lawn.

At 4:56 p.m, the blaze, which had been concentrated on the second floor, was declared under control.

The cause of the fire was still under investigation Tuesday evening, the spokesman said.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) said he is asking the city Department of Transportation to do another comprehensive review of the Ed Koch-Queensborough Bridge off-ramps after a fourth car accident took place near the bridge last week.

“I think the DOT has not done enough to fix the traffic pattern there,” Gianaris said.

In an echo of three accidents last year, a car coming off the exit ramp of the Queensborough Bridge May 1 lost control on the off-ramp on Queens Plaza South near Crescent Street in Long Island City, Gianaris said.

While there were no injuries and the driver declined medical attention, the senator called the incident “frightening” in his letter last Thursday to Queens DOT Commissioner Maura McCarthy.

Three cars got into accidents at the intersection in 2011, and two of those crashes resulted in casualties. On March 28, 2011 at around 4 a.m., Grant Riddell lost control of his Volkswagen while driving on the off-ramp and traveled onto the sidewalk, killing pedestrian Anthony Buscemi and destroying two stores.

Riddell, who lost his arm in the accident, is now facing two charges of vehicular assault, vehicular manslaughter, operating a vehicle under alcohol or drugs and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, the Queens district attorney’s office said. His next court date is June 13, the DA said.

Nine days after Riddell’s accident on April 6, 2011, at around 4 a.m., Alexander Palacio lost control of his Volkswagen and hit the same stores. Palacio also lost his arm in the accident and was later charged with driving without a valid license. His passenger, Beatriz Rodriguez, died due to injuries sustained in the crash.

In May 2011, another Volkswagen driver lost control coming down the off-ramp. While concrete barriers that had recently been erected prevented the car from smashing into the stores, the Volkswagen hit the barriers and a livery cab.

Both Palacio and the owners of the stores have sued the city as a result of the crash.

Gianaris said while some of the drivers were allegedly speeding, the DOT must still ensure the ramps are as safe as possible.

“Finger-pointing does not make people safer,” he said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

The NYPD has fulfilled a request by Deputy Inspector Joseph Courtesis for more boots on the ground to combat rising crime trends in the 105th Precinct, but the community’s wishes for a new precinct appear to have been looked over once again.

The 105th’s commanding officer had made a request for an impact zone, an area where the department deploys an increased number of new officers fresh out of the academy to fight concentrated crime. Thirty-four new officers were deployed to areas like Queens Village and Cambria Heights beginning April 20, and will remain under Courtesis’ command for an indeterminate amount of time.

The community has also long sought to have the 105th split in half, with a new precinct created in the southern section. The NYPD opened a satellite precinct house in Rosedale in 2007, and community members want it to be made into the new 116th Precinct. Dan Andrews, spokesman for Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, said it was a “longstanding request due to response time and length of precinct.”

Marshall made it one of her budget priorities this year, but Mayor Michael Bloomberg did not include it in his preliminary fiscal year 2013 budget released last week.

The precinct, which stretches along the Queens-Nassau County border from Glen Oaks in the north to Springfield Gardens in the south, is experiencing an overall increase in major crimes of more than 15 percent over last year, with the largest spikes coming from robberies, felony assaults and grand larcenies.

Crime is up compared to last year in nearly every category for the week of April 23-29. The precinct experienced a 17 percent increase in robberies, a 16 percent increase in assaults and a 32 percent increase in auto theft, although the precinct saw an 11 percent decline in rapes.

Detective Javoda Cooper, with the precinct’s community affairs office, said the impact zone will be constantly evaluated and the officers will be deployed based on analyses of crime patterns.

“They are targeting robberies, burglaries and shooting locations, for example. Officers will be posted along Springfield and Francis Lewis boulevards to combat bus stop robberies,” she said. “The officers will also address quality-of-life conditions such as disorderly groups during school dismissals, house parties, graffiti, drinking and marijuana use. By addressing these conditions, more serious criminal activity may be prevented.”

Courtesis had previously said he believed impact zones in the adjacent 103rd and 113th precincts may have been displacing crime to the 105th.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

A newly installed speed bump near the corner of Archer Avenue and 153rd Street has Jamaica commuters slowing down — with some even coming to a complete stop.

The bump behind the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning is not designed to slow down motorists, though. The bench-like public art installation near the transit hub invites passersby to stop, take a load off and give their urban surroundings a second thought.

The work, entitled “Humps and Bumps,” was designed and created by a collective of five artists known as BroLab, and commissioned by the city Department of Transportation under its Urban Art initiative.

Heng-Gil Han, JCAL’s visual arts curator, said the functional sculpture takes the iconic, everyday image of a speed bump and reappropriates it in a way that forces the public to reflect on their urban surroundings.

“It talks about the transit system,” he said, noting how the curves of the yellow and black-striped piece mimic the contours on the roof of the nearby subway station. “It doesn’t look like their image of sculpture, and that’s the point. It shifts our preconceived notion of what art is and what it looks like.”

The piece — which is 8 by 10 feet and about 3 1/2 feet tall — is in the shape of a speed bump turned back against itself, creating sloping curves that invite worn-down passers-by to relax. It is a wooden frame coated with rubber pellets normally used for playground surfaces.

After the sculpture was installed last week, people making their way to trains and buses had varied reactions. Some looked on curiously and others sat and talked on their phones. Some simply walked up and poked at it to investigate.

“I like those behaviors,” Han said. “It breaks down the distance between contemporary art and daily life.”

Kevin Lin, 15, stared at the sculpture perplexedly as he was waiting to catch a bus to Fresh Meadows.

“It looks like a chair,” he concluded, a bit unsure.

Adam Brent, one of the BroLab artists, said the group met in 2009 at an artists-in-residency program at the Bronx Museum. Their first collaboration was a performance art piece for Art in Odd Places entitled “Pump 14,” in which 12 individuals carried buckets of water on yokes back and forth along 14th Street in Manhattan between the Hudson and East rivers.

“We walked roughly 26 miles each and carried 400-some-odd gallons of water,” he said. “I was delirious at one point. It was so exhausting and staggering. We worked in shifts and we were usually by ourselves. Walking like that was somewhat lonely and contemplative and meditative. I think that’s an underlying tone in all our projects.”

The performance was the first time Han had seen BroLab’s work.

“I thought it was nonsense,” he said with delight. “They were wasting so much energy! But I was quite interested in the project.”

Brent, 38, said the most gratifying thing about seeing the sculpture completed is seeing how it enhances its environment.

“It’s rewarding to see young people — I have a son — chilling and talking on their cell phones,” he said. “It makes the place much more functional, more celebratory.”

“Humps and Bumps” will be on display for the next 11 months.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Certain Whitestone students have been rummaging through garbage cans and ransacking the cupboards of extended families to help fund a playground at their school, finding thousands of dollars most people mistake as trash.

Since October kids at St. Luke School, near the corner of 150th Street and 17th Avenue, have feverishly collected more than 54,000 box tops and soup labels they can exchange for cash and school supplies through two nationwide programs. That averages out to 348 box tops collected per day.

The programs, run by food conglomerates General Mills and Campbell Soup Co., have been around for years. But box-top fever has gripped the Queens Catholic school largely due to mothers Heather Summa and Jen Wasiak, who run a surprisingly sophisticated operation to turn the cardboard scraps into real benefits.

“It’s free money,” said Summa, whose two sons are in kindergarten and fourth-grade. “We’re turning garbage into cash.”

After the children salvage the box tops from hundreds of products like yogurt, cereal or frozen vegetables, they bring them to their classrooms and drop them into collection boxes — the first step in the process.

Summa and Wasiak, whose son is also in kindergarten, then round up those boxes and bring them home, where they dump out the tops and count them out into bundles of 50, stacking them around the house before putting them into Ziplock bags — which also boast box tops — and then a box.

Although it might seem strange, at that point the parcel can be worth upwards of $1,000. Summa has to get the package insured before shipping it off.

Each General Mills box top is worth 10 cents, and the school recently received a check for $2,800 for the 28,000 tops kids collected. The 26,000 Campbell Soup Co. Labels for Education are worth points toward purchasing all manner of school supplies.

But the kingpins of the operation were quick to give all the credit to the kids.

“They worked so hard, they deserve it,” Summa said.

Nothing galvanizes an elementary school like a boys vs. girls competition, and this time around the females were leading their male counterparts by a considerable amount in the quest for a coveted prize: the opportunity to wear pajamas to school.

A.J. Wasiak, 9, described why Pajama Day is so great.

“It’s just easier,” he said, describing in a weary voice the arduous morning routine of tying his tie and buttoning up his shirt as part of the Catholic uniform.

In several earlier stages of competitions, which typically last eight to 10 weeks, different grades have competed against each other to win ice cream parities or movie and popcorn events, for example.

“I think it’s a fun activity, and it helps our school,” said 10-year-old Juliana Estevez, who could speak nonchalantly about the box tops and labels since the girls held a comfortable lead.

Assistant Principal Lucy Lugones agrees, citing the fact that the school is funded by donations and the cost of tuition.

“All of this extra money is a huge help,” she said, adding that some of the money will go toward adding more amenities to the newly completed playground outside the school.

Anyone who would like to contribute to the students’ effort can send General Mills box tops or Labels for Education to St. Luke School, at 16-01 150th Place in Whitestone.

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Philip Newman

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Ridgewood livery cab driver has pleaded guilty to charges of imprisoning a Panamanian family in his speeding taxi in a terrifying ride fleeing police.

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said Bhupinder Singh, 38, of 17-08 Himrod St. in Ridgewood, entered a guilty plea Monday to first-degree unlawful imprisonment.

Queens Criminal Court Judge Dorothy Chin-Brandt indicated she would sentence Singh to six months in jail and five years probation June 4.

Brown said Singh approached the Panamanian family of four after their arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport Feb. 21 and illegally offered ground transportation.

Port Authority Police Officer Dante Castro-Recio observed Singh escorting the unsuspecting family, Maria Maurelle Sosa, Tomas Sosa and their children Aldo Sosa, 17, and Andres Sosa, 12.

When Castro-Recio stepped from his car and identified himself as a police officer, Singh locked his car doors, put the car in reverse and drove around the policeman, fleeing at high speed with the officer in pursuit.

At one point in the chase, Aldo Sosa grabbed the steering wheel and jerked it to the right, sending the Lincoln Town Car into a guard rail and causing minor injuries to his parents.

Singh abandoned his car and fled on foot, but was soon captured by police.

Brown said it was another instance of unregulated taxis and unscrupulous drivers who are not properly licensed and do not carry appropriate insurance.

Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-260-4536.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Dr. Robert Mittman, a Bayside allergist, has secured a spot on the ballot for the June 26 primary to determine the Democratic candidate for the new Queens congressional seat, his campaign said last week.

Mittman’s voter signatures, 938 of which were required to get on the ballot, were challenged by supporters of one of his opponents, state Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows).

Lancman’s camp then poured over the signatures to try and invalidate enough to knock Mittman off, but the Bell Boulevard doctor held on.

“I am very happy that the will of over 2,800 resident voters of the 6th Congressional District who signed our petitions was heard loud and clear,” he said in a statement. “I look forward to this campaign and engaging the people, the press and, of course, my opponents.”

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Suspicious Queens spouses just had a heaping dose of fuel poured onto their dubious flames.

An online dating site has brought to the surface an unpopular consequence for some living in financially affluent areas, naming several spots within the borough as some of the most scandalous in the city.

Promiscuous online dating site ashleymadison.com released a survey naming areas like Forest Hills, Douglaston and Howard Beach as some of the most likely places to find swinging spouses.

The top five cheating ZIP codes included Great Neck, L.I., in first place; Park Slope, Brooklyn, in second; Manhattan’s Upper East Side in third; Forest Hills in fourth; and TriBeCa in Manhattan in fifth. New City in Rockland County ranked sixth, Douglaston seventh, Riverdale in the Bronx eighth, Howard Beach ninth and Garden City, L.I., 10th.

Noel Biderman, CEO of ashleymadison.com, told the New York Post about a trend that appeared to tie richer areas to more membership on the site.

“There seems to be a disproportionate amount of cheating spouses in affluent areas and neighborhoods in New York,” Biderman told the Post.

According to Biderman, the infidelity-driven site compared government census data to the area codes of its members to calculate a percentage. Based on the survey, Great Neck led the pack with at least 3.02 percent of the town’s adult residents as paid members of the site.

Ashleymadison.com, whose slogan is “Life is short. Have an affair,” matches cheating spouses with one another so they might share in each other’s illicit behavior from its headquarters in Toronto. The site currently has more than 13 million subscribers worldwide with more than 500,000 New York users making up the roughly 9 million nationwide.

In an interview with the Post, Biderman said infidelity could occur across several different demographics and races, noting that commuters to New York City were especially prone to cheating because of wealth.

He said women were more likely to cheat as their success level grows and men were more prone to join the site when they have children.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

A 28-year-old Boston man pleaded guilty to committing a hate crime last week after stabbing a gay man in Jackson Heights who was walking down the street with his boyfriend last year, the Queens district attorney’s office said.

Cristian Flores, who has been held in jail on a $25,000 bail since he was taken into custody, faces 3 1/2 years in prison at his sentencing for the discriminatory assault, the District Attorney Richard Brown said.

“Today’s guilty plea ensures that the victim of a crime motivated by hate will receive justice,” Brown said in a statement.

Flores attacked Carlos Aleman, 34, who had been walking at night on Roosevelt Avenue between 80th and 81st streets in Jackson Heights with his boyfriend at 4:10 a.m. Aug. 21, the DA said. Flanked by several others who had not been arrested as of press time, Flores followed the two men while yelling anti-gay slurs, the DA said.

Flores and the others then started to push Aleman and his boyfriend around, the DA said. Aleman tried to help his boyfriend, but Flores took out a knife and stabbed Aleman in his right arm, the DA said.

When NYPD officers responded to the assault, Flores fled, the DA said. Despite his injury, Aleman subdued Flores so the police could take him away, the DA said.

The laceration to Aleman’s bicep was deep and required seven stitches at a hospital in the borough, the DA said.

Flores pleaded to assault as a hate crime in Queens Supreme Court May 2 before Justice Steven Paynter, the DA said. Paynter suggested he would sentence Flores to 3 1/2 years in prison as well as two years and six months of supervision after he is released, the DA said.

Brown said the expected sentence would “serve as both a punishment for his actions and a deterrent to those who would commit hate crimes whether they be motivated by gender, religion, sexual orientation or ethnicity.”

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

A man described by his roommate as a recently divorced Libyan war refugee was arrested and charged with murder in the stabbing death of a 28-year-old man on Friday night, the NYPD said.

According to police, Wahid Elawame, 35, of Astoria, was charged in the stabbing death of Mrwan Said in an apartment above a Steinway Street hookah cafe. Police said Elawame faces counts of murder, kidnapping and criminal possession of a weapon in connection with the stabbing that occurred at his apartment around 11:30 p.m.

The incident took place on the third floor of an apartment building above Layali Beirut, a lounge at 25-60 Steinway St.

Mohamed Mohamed, who shared the apartment with Elawame and two other men, said he heard two crashes on the roof while he was working at the first-floor hookah cafe. When he went outside to investigate, he saw two of his roommates crying on the second-floor roof below the apartment.

“They jumped out to get away,” he said. “They said he [Elawame] stabbed the man.”

According to police, when officers arrived they found Elawame sitting at the murder scene inside the apartment, smoking a cigarette.

Elawame allegedly stabbed the victim after an altercation, according to police at the 114th Precinct. The New York Post reported the fight erupted after Said allegedly backed out of a plot to kill Elawame’s boss.

Police said Said was taken with a stab wound in the torso to Elmhurst Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Mohamed called Elawame violent and said he did not trust him.

“He [Elawame] didn’t have the right frame of mind,” said Mohamed, 53, who said the suspect’s divorce and the conflict in Libya added to his rage.

“He was under a lot of stress, but he was not normal,” he said. “He had problems at home [in Libya] and it made him very angry.”

Antonia Grancelli, 20, lives on the second floor and heard someone scream at the time of the murder.

“A man jumped from the window crying and screaming, ‘He’s getting killed,’” she said. “One of the guys who jumped was holding his arm like it was broken. My sister called the police.”

Police said they took a suspect into custody early Saturday morning and identified Elawame as the man who had been arrested later in the afternoon.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Joe Anuta

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two Queens lawmakers are sponsoring bills that would provide oversight over one of the most controversial government bodies in the city, and the public got to weigh in last month.

City Councilmen Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) both sponsored legislation that would provide oversight on decisions made by the city Board of Standards and Appeals, the agency that grants variances for developers to build projects outside of zoning laws.

“In our district, the agency is highly unpopular,” Halloran said. “Civic and the community board almost universally have a negative feeling toward the BSA.”

The board is an independent body made up of five mayoral appointees who have the final say in variance applications. BSA did not respond to a request for comment.

One of Halloran’s bills that would make the BSA process more palatable to communities around the city was discussed at an April 27 Council hearing.

The legislation would impose stiffer penalties on landowners who do not reapply for expired variances. Some businesses like automotive service shops must reapply to the city, but it is not uncommon for them to go a decade without doing so, according to Halloran.

Variances are supposed to be granted to a landowner if it is impossible to build on the property without getting relief from the zoning laws. But that definition would draw scoffs from many civic organizations and community leaders around the borough.

When a developer or landowner now wants a variance, they present their plan to the local community board and then the borough president. Both of them make recommendations on whether to approve or disapprove the plan ahead of the BSA, which is supposed to take the prior recommendations into account.

According to Alex Camarda from the nonprofit Citizens Union, that does not always happen in Queens. Camarda testified at the hearing along with civic leaders and presented statistics about the results of the board’s hearings.

The BSA approved 97 percent of the 105 applications it heard within the last year, according to Camarda, and the board disagreed with Queens community boards 32 percent of the time — the second highest rate in the city.

“Amplifying voices of the community in BSA decisions is needed, as shown by Citizens Union’s review of BSA decisions in the last year on variances, which we prepared in advance of today’s hearing,” he said.

Van Bramer had two bills that were discussed at the hearing, where members of the public waited hours to testify. The first would add another layer to the process of obtaining a variance by creating a community advisory board. The other would change how the BSA hears evidence at hearings by creating a standard operating procedure.

Queens civic leaders have long called for BSA reform, but Henry Euler, of the Auburndale Improvement Association, said the bills heard last week do not do enough.

“It is a step in the right direction, but they really need to go further,” he said. “There should be an appeals process in place that doesn’t involve having to file a lawsuit.”

Reach reporter Joe Anuta by e-mail at januta@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4566.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Bayside student who wants to honor his late teacher by having a Bayside street renamed in her honor got the nod from Community Board 11 Monday.

In other actions, a Douglaston family intent on improving their landmarked property received the go-ahead at the board’s monthly meeting at MS 158, at 46-35 Oceania St. in Bayside.

A member of the 111th Precinct also provided details on updated crime statistics, which outlined a slight increase in crime.

In a presentation to the community board, seventh-grade Boy Scout Thomas Fennell suggested the renaming of 214th Place in Bayside to “Geraldine Cilmi Lane,” in honor of his late science teacher who died of cancer last year.

Cilmi taught at PS 41 The Crocheron School, at 214-43 35th Ave., and received much praise from both Fennell and his mother, Irene Fennell.

“I loved going to her class because I could be free,” Thomas said. “I’ll always remember her. She loved all of us.”

According to Irene Fennell, the renamed street is adjacent to the school near Crocheron Park and no residents live on the street. She said she helped her son go through appropriate government channels with support from both state Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Little Neck) and City Councilman Dan Halloran (R-Whitestone) to name the street in the former science teacher’s memory.

“She created an environment so conducive to learning and I wish she had a prototype to pass down to future teachers,” Irene Fennell said. “There will be no impact to anyone other than the friends and family of a teacher whose memory will stay with us forever.”

CB 11 Chairman Jerry Iannece said the proposal was moved over to a committee to begin the process of renaming the street.

Attorney Mitchell Ross represented the Schindler family of Douglaston in a proposal to build in the bed of a mapped street on Depew Avenue. According to Ross, the family wanted to improve its 8,900-square-foot house by raising it to street level and adding a second story.

The community board voted unanimously to approve the plan.

Neighbor Joan Rose spoke in support of the Schindler family’s renovation plans, adding that the reconstruction would only improve their neighborhood.

Ross said the renovations would maintain the home’s landmarked front facade.

Similar to every month’s community board meeting, a representative of the 111th Precinct updated the community on the most recent crime statistics. On Monday night, Capt. Tommy Ng said the area saw a slight increase in crime through the first four months of 2012, mostly due to the ongoing issue of criminals breaking into parked and idling cars.

“We urge all residents to not leave any valuables visible in their cars,” Ng said. “All it takes is a few seconds for someone to break into your car and steal your property.”

According to the 111th Precinct, overall crime is up 5 percent so far in 2012.

Monday night’s meeting also included a public session on a special permit for a physical culture establishment at Lucille Roberts, at 41-19 Bell Blvd., and a presentation on plans to reconstruct the path near Oakland Lake.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

City Comptroller John Liu threatened to reject a taxi contract between the city and car manufacturer Nissan, saying the designs are not handicapped-accessible, but the city Taxi & Limousine Commission and the city Law Department said Liu has no standing to do so.

“Requiring cabs to have independent passenger climate controls is nice, but when you fail to make them accessible to a growing number of New Yorkers, it’s not just a slap in the face, it’s illegal,” Liu said in a statement.

With the discontinuance of Ford’s Crown Victoria, the model car used for the majority of the iconic yellow cabs, the city needed an alternative. After requesting proposals in 2009, Nissan’s NV200 design was chosen in May 2011.

The city’s website says the new cabs have multiple new safety and comfort features, including sliding doors, passenger airbags that work around the partition, passenger climate controls and flat seats. The cabs also have more luggage room, passenger charging stations and reading lights.

But Liu spokeswoman Stephanie Hoo said unlike London’s cabs, the vehicles are not required to be wheelchair-accessible. The legislation that created the new green taxis for the outer boroughs and upper Manhattan also required the selling of medallions for 2,000 handicapped-accessible yellow cabs, that 20 percent of the new green taxis would be handicapped-accessible and that grants of up to $15,000 be offered to retrofit vehicles.

Hoo said the comptroller wants to see all new cabs handicapped-accessible and that not to do so would be illegal under the American Disabilities Act.

“If it is not modified, the office plans to reject it,” she said.

Liu’s edict was not warmly received by the Law Department, which said the comptroller did not have the standing to nix the contract.

“The law limits the issues upon which the comptroller can refuse to register a contract,” Law Department spokeswoman Kate O’Brien Ahlers said in a statement. “None of the matters he raised today — including ADA compliance — would constitute lawful grounds for refusing to do so.”

TLC spokesman Allan Fromberg also said in a statement that even though not all of the new taxis are wheelchair-accessible, the organization is fully in compliance with the law and cited the additional handicapped-accessible yellow cabs and outer borough taxis that would be on the street.

“It’s a simple fact that we’ve made more progress on wheelchair-accessible transportation options in the past year than anyone has in the last three decades,” he said.

Hoo said that since making the vehicles handicapped-accessible does not cost the city anything since the taxis are manufactured by Nissan and bought by drivers, there is no reason all vehicles should not be handicapped-accessible.

She also contended the city could save money by having all handicapped-accessible vehicles and ditching the Access-A-Ride program.

“Right now, it’s separate and unequal, and it costs extra money for that system,” she said.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

Don’t just party — party with a purpose.

That is the message Greg Mays, founder of A Better Jamaica, wants to send with the inaugural Jamaica Ball, a chance for community members to show their support for the nonprofits serving the greater Jamaica area as they eat, dance and party the night away.

More than 10 local nonprofits — such as the artist advocate Cultural Collaborative Jamaica and the Southern Queens Park Association — have signed up for the May 19 mixer at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center, at 161-04 Jamaica Ave. A full 90 percent of every $50 ticket, which can be purchased at thejamaicaball.com, will be donated to the organization of the buyer’s choice.

“I’ve been on enough boards of directors and enough spring benefits and anniversary celebrations to know that there aren’t enough friends of my organization to purchase the number of tickets needed for a big celebration,” Mays said.

“So I thought, ‘What can I do as part of my group’s mission to support the work of other nonprofits in Jamaica?’ And then I was like, “Oh, wow! Why don’t I just sort of pull all these folks together and have a joint fund-raiser?’ And that’s the Jamaica Ball,” he said.

Due to the size of the performing arts center, there is a 250-ticket limit, but Mays said if the event is a success, he would like to be able to host upwards of 1,500 attendees in a few years.

“Quite honestly, I hope to grow out of the venue,” he said.

The party is sponsored by the stalwart Greater Jamaica Development Corp., and Mays was able to secure corporate funding from JetBlue, a feat he said is no easy achievement in southeast Queens.

Coming up on its fifth anniversary, A Better Jamaica’s programming includes its Family Movies in the Parks series. Mays said similar events, such as Bryant Park’s summer film series in Manhattan, easily attract large corporate sponsors, which often overlook the Jamaica area.

The Long Island City-based JetBlue, he said, was eager to jump on board with the ball, which is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. and run until 1 a.m.

“I’m particularly happy with JetBlue’s support,” he said. “They’re a Queens-based company and I think that allowed them to see more value and opportunity.”

This summer’s series will screen movies in Cambria, Brookville, Baisley Pond and St. Albans parks. More information can be found at abetterjamaica.org.

Mays said that since former Gov. David Patterson took member items off the table, nonprofits have had to look elsewhere to supplement the loss of funding from their state representatives.

“If I could get a different audience or a different set of attendees than we typically see at political fund-raisers, I will feel as if I succeeded,” he said. “I wanted to provide an opportunity for the regular, everyday, hardworking folks who live in Jamaica to support the institutions that work for and with them.”

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

With just a month to go before the state Legislature breaks for the summer, New Yorkers are strongly in favor of both increasing the minimum wage and cutting taxes on businesses, according to a new Siena Research Institute poll.

More than three-quarters of New York registered voters support proposed legislation to raise the minimum wage Jan. 1, the poll found.

“By a resounding 78-17 percent margin, voters support increasing New York’s minimum wage from the current $7.25 to $8.50 per hour,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. “Nearly nine in 10 Democrats support it, as do three-quarters of independents and 58 percent of Republicans. At least 70 percent of voters from every region support the increase.”

“About two-thirds of voters have heard or read a great deal or some about the issue and the vast majority would like to see the Legislature pass the minimum wage increase before [the] session ends next month,” he said.

The minimum was last raised in 2007, up from $6.75 an hour.

The poll also shows that nearly two-thirds of registered New York voters favor a $200 million package of small business tax cuts and credits.

“A smaller but still large majority of voters supports, by a 65-13 percent margin, a $200 million package of tax cuts and credits for small businesses aimed at spurring job creation.” Greenberg said. “At least 63 percent of voters from every party and region support a small business tax package.”

Voters favored their individual senator by a 65-24 percent margin and their state Assembly member by a margin of 54-24 percent.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Phil Corso

TimesLedger Newspapers

Various community leaders will be recognized next week when the American Heart Association hosts the fifth annual Queens Go Red for Women Dinner.

The dinner, scheduled for Tuesday from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at Terrace on the Park in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, will bring together community and business leaders on the issue of heart health.

This year’s dinner will honor Dr. Chong Park, chief of the Division of Cardiology at New York Hospital, among others.

Dr. Diane M. Sixsmith, chairwoman of the Department of Emergency Medicine at New York Hospital, will also have the honor of chairing the dinner.

The Queens Go Red for Women Committee is made up of community and business leaders who have dedicated their efforts to raising awareness and funs for the Go Red for Women movement.

Macy’s and Merck nationally sponsor the 2012 American Heart Association Queens Go Red for Women Dinner. Local media sponsors include Long Island Radio Group, News Corp. and the Queens Courier.

For more information, tickets or sponsorship opportunities, contact Jan DiGeronimo at 516-450-9131 or visit heart.org/queensgoredforwomen.

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

It might not be filled with water, but the pool at Astoria Park filled with music Saturday as the city Parks Department organized an event to promote its refurbishment.

Parks and elected officials are vying for a grant to restore the Olympic-sized pool and three-tier diving board, which has been deteriorating after decades of neglect.

Queens Parks Commissioner Dorothy Lewandowski is asking fans of the park to cast their votes for the project, one of 40 in the city competing for a grant from Partners in Preservation, headed by American Express through the National Trust for Historic Preservation, an organization created to preserve historic landmarks.

Historic sites across the five boroughs are competing for a portion of $3 million in grant money offered through Partners in Preservation. The Queens sites vying for the grants include Astoria Pool, Flushing Town Hall, the Rocket Thrower statue in Flushing Meadows Corona Park, the Louis Armstrong House Museum and the Queens County Farm Museum.

Officials are asking anyone interested in voting for their favorite location to log on to partnersinpreservation.com from now until May 21.

Lewandowski hopes votes for Astoria Pool come in waves.

“We want to make Astoria Pool the most popular place in the city. We need people to vote every day until May 21,” she said. “Let’s restore this pool and utilize it as a performance space.”

The plan, according to Lewandowski and City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. (D-Astoria) is to build a stage over the pool and use it for concerts and theatrical plays. The councilman and parks also want to restore the high-dive platform and integrate it into the performances.

Vallone, who last year allocated the $1 million toward converting the public performance space, said the diving platform could have unlimited use in art productions.

“I picture Juliet calling to Romeo from that diving board,” said Vallone, at the Music & Arts Festival in Astoria Park Saturday afternoon. “It’s going to look great. It will sit between these two bridges [the Hellgate and Triborough bridges] and I think it will evoke theaters of ancient Greece and Rome.”

Parks has $1 million locked in toward the construction of a performance stage in the existing diving pool area and the creation of a canopy over the site’s bleachers.

Vallone said he plans on setting aside even more money for the park and hopes to add concessions to the theater once it is completed.

The project is currently at the design stage and is expected to take 18 months to complete, according to Vallone’s representative.

Astoria Park’s main pool, a popular summer destination for Queens residents, attracts more than 100,000 visitors each season, according to Parks. Officials hope the performance center will draw even more visitors.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who announced the marshals of the 2012 Queens Pride Parade Monday, looked back on how far the parade and the state had come since its inception 20 years ago.

“I was a young man when I started it,” Dromm said, “and I can’t believe 20 years have passed and so much has changed.”

The Queens Pride Parade and Multicultural Festival in Jackson Heights — an extravaganza that includes floats, elaborate costumes and LGBT groups from the borough and beyond — will be held Sunday, June 3, at noon.

The parade runs along 37th Avenue beginning at 84th Street and ending at 75th Street, the site of a festival which will run from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Some 40,000 to 60,000 people attend every year.

Dromm, who is openly gay, is one of the co-founders of the parade.

Marshals this year include the newly named Queens Center for Gay Seniors, at 74-09 37th Ave., Suite 409, in Jackson Heights, formerly known as Senior Action in a Gay Environment, and the family of Julio Rivera, whose 1990 murder in Jackson Heights inspired the parade.

Chris Calvert, who co-chairs the parade committee with Hank Krumholz, said this year’s theme is “Generations of Pride” and will feature both the senior LGBT community as well as student organizations, bringing together the past fighting discrimination and the present day. The 2012 parade will be the first held since New York legalized same-sex marriage last year.

“There’s been a lot of accomplishment, but very easily things can go backward,” Calvert cautioned.

John Nagel, president of the senior center, said the organization has been in operation as part of the Queens Community House since 1986. He described it as a place for LGBT seniors to feel safe and supported by members of their community.

“We’re really happy we’re going to be part of the Queens Pride Parade to promote LGBT seniors not only in Jackson Heights but in all of Queens,” Nagel said.

Rita Barakos, Rivera’s stepsister, came to the Monday announcement as a representative for the family.

“I’m very proud and I’m very happy about the parade because it keeps Julio’s memory alive,” she said.

Dromm and U.S. Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-Jackson Heights) both spoke about how Rivera’s tragic death inspired a movement for equality in the neighborhood.

“Even from those dark, ugly moments, rays of sunlight have come through,” Crowley said.

More information about the parade and festival can be found at queenspride.org.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Steve Mosco

TimesLedger Newspapers

An elderly Forest Hills woman bilked out of close to $800,000 over four years by her home health aide said the theft left her feeling shocked and betrayed.

“I gave her money to buy things, but she kept it,” said Renee Fuld, 86, who had been under Jackie Pokuwaah’s care for seven years. “I had no idea it was happening. She was like family for a long time.”

Pokuwaah, 53, was convicted of stealing the cash after convincing her patient to sign hundreds of checks made payable to the defendant, which the health care aide would then deposit in her personal bank account, according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Pokuwaah, of the Bronx, was convicted of five counts of second-degree grand larceny and five counts of criminal possession of stolen property, the DA said. She will be sentenced May 22 and faces up to 15 years in prison, said the DA.

Fuld, who is confined to a wheelchair, has limited use of her hands and suffers from cognitive impairment, signed hundreds of checks over to Pokuwaah over a four-year period. In addition to the checks the defendant received, Fuld paid her an annual salary of $81,000 and allowed Pokuwaah and her two children to live in the Forest Hills home rent-free, according to Fuld.

“I trusted her and I’m sorry I did,” said the senior citizen, whose husband died five years ago.

According to the district attorney, Fuld — who relied on Pokuwaah to tell her what the checks were for and the amounts — wrote checks made payable to the defendant in order to pay for food, laundry and other everyday expenses.

An investigation was launched after an employee at a Queens TD Bank became suspicious over the legitimacy of large checks being written from the account, Brown said.

The investigation revealed Fuld’s bank account showed checks totaling $791,054 had been made payable to Pokuwaah between January 2007 and March 2011, the DA said, and in one instance, a check for $1,700 carried a notation indicating that it was for ice cream.

Other checks routinely written for exorbitant amounts indicated they were for such things as laundry and groceries, Brown said.

Pokuwaah, a Ghanaian immigrant who came to the United States 19 years ago, remains in jail in lieu of $25,000 bail, said the DA.

“Home health aides are welcomed into the homes of the most vulnerable in our society. It is essential that they not use their position of trust to victimize those in their care as was done in this case,” Brown said. “The defendant used her influence over the victim to systematically steal her life savings. She must receive a lengthy prison sentence both as punishment and to serve as a warning to those who would target the weak or the elderly.”

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Philip Newman

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The East Side Access to bring the Long Island Rail Road into Grand Central may not become a reality until 2019, largely because of excavation problems in Queens.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman Joseph Lhota, speaking in Melville, L.I., said the problem is not beneath Grand Central Terminal “but on the Queens side” of the project.

The MTA later released a statement saying the agency “is re-evaluating the risks in the construction schedule for the Eastside Access and plans to present its findings to the MTA Capital Program Oversight Committee later this month.”

The statement continued: “One preliminary analysis of risk factors has indicated the completion date may move to 2019 as East Side Access construction intensifies in the busiest passenger rail yard and the largest passenger rail interchange in the nation.”

Lhota told the Long Island Association that tunneling under the Sunnyside railyard, where trains from Amtrak and its Acela trains are stored, has become a problem.

“Contaminated soil languishes and must be disposed of properly and, unlike closer to the water, the ground is soft rather than rocky,” Lhota said..

Lhota said workers have also run into springs and brooks “that nobody knew existed below the surface.”

“The MTA has brought in experts from Europe to help with developing a plan going forward,” Lhota said.

The monumental project was supposed at latest estimates to cost $7.3 billion, but it was not yet known whether the new hurdles would increase the tab.

The East Side Access project had previously been expected to be completed in late 2016, then 2018.

“We were looking at 2018, but the most recent analyses put the opening at 2019,” Lhota said. “I don’t want to see it go past 2019.”

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By Rich Bockmann

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The owner of a Richmond Hill credit repair company has been charged with bilking customers out of thousands of dollars, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced last week.

According to the criminal charges, B.J. Cardova, of Valley Stream, L.I., allegedly promised at least four customers he would repair their credit scores, but instead scammed them out of a total of $7,700 between 2008 and 2010, Brown said.

Cardova, who owns Financial Institution Recovery Services, at 92-11 102nd St., told his customers that for a cash fee, ranging from $700 to $3,000, he would repair their damaged credit, but instead he allegedly provided them with a forged name-change decree from Georgia, and then instructed them to get a new New York state driver’s license using the false identities, according to the DA.

When investigators searched Cardova’s office and home, they allegedly found Georgia name-change and divorce decrees, rubber stamps with the names of a judge and clerk from the Peach State and a raised seal of Fulton County Superior Court, Brown said.

“The defendant is accused of ‘gaming the system’ to make money for himself by taking advantage of credit-impaired borrowers eager to climb out from under mounting debt,” the DA said. “Instead of throwing them a lifeline, in reality he is alleged to have exposed businesses to bad debtors who were financially drowning and assisted his customers in burying themselves deeper in debt.”

Brown further said anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Cardova’s alleged scheme should contact his Economic Crimes Bureau at 718-286-7013.

Cardova faces up to seven years if convicted on charges of criminal possession of a forged instrument, grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property and scheme to defraud, Brown said.

The Valley Stream man was ordered held on $40,000 bail and his next scheduled court appearance is May 15.

NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly praised the inter-agency collaboration that led to Cardova’s arrest.

“Repairing bad credit requires more than a name change. The suspect’s idea of a quick fix solution for a person with bad credit was to use forged documents to create a debt-free new identity,” he said. “I commend the NYPD’s Document Fraud Squad, the New York state DMV and the Queens DA’s office for shutting down this scheme.”

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Rebecca Henely

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Leaders of the 82nd Street Partnership, a small business improvement organization, were pleased the borough president and mayor’s offices set aside $200,000 to improve the Dunningham Triangle, a vital piece of open space in the dense neighborhood.

Borough President Helen Marshall gave the triangle, on 82nd Street between Ithaca Street and Baxter Avenue in Elmhurst, $150,000 while Mayor Michael Bloomberg pitched in another $50,000. With input from the community, the members of the Partnership want to make the triangle a destination as part of the overall revitalization of the commercial strip.

“These funds will provide for the renovation of this crucial triangle and create a vibrant anchor to enhance local businesses and enliven the shopping district,” Marshall said in a statement.

The triangle is one-tenth of an acre, according to the city Parks Department’s website.

Seth Taylor, director of the partnership, said the business group had applied for the grants in February and that it was “delighted” to receive them.

“A space like that, it will be an important amenity for the shoppers who come to 82nd Street,” Taylor said.

City Small Business Services Commissioner Robert Walsh described the current state of the park as “something out of a Charlie Brown episode” — i.e., unplanted and lonely. He said building upon it will make a big difference.

“It’s not a big piece of land, but it’s a critical piece of land,” Walsh said.

Both he and Taylor said they want to hold events in the triangle as well to drive shoppers to the space.

The city Parks Department will take the lead in creating the design of the triangle and constructing it, but the partnership will work with the business owners of 82nd Street in Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, as well as residents, to develop the design.

“It will be a fun sort of social gathering space,” Taylor said.

After the previous director of the organization was fired for negligence late last year, the 82nd Street Partnership has been working to turn the strip around by cleaning up the graffiti, planting new trees and installing Muni-Meters.

City Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who shares the partnership’s coverage area with Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras (D-East Elmhurst), said he hopes the renovation will include a lower fence around the triangle and single seating that will allow for a place for people to sit but not attract any homeless sleepers.

“It’s another step in my overall goal, which is to increase park space and open space in the community,” he said. “It’s another move in the right direction.”

The triangle was named after Jabez Dunningham, who lived in Elmhurst from the early 1920s until his death in 1945 at the age of 77, the Parks Department’s website said. Dunningham was the founder of the Queens Council of Civic Associations and a voice against pollution and excessive garbage, as well as an advocate for public transportation on Staten Island.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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By Steve Mosco

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The New York Racing Association, which oversees the racetrack at Aqueduct, said Friday it fired two top executives after a state report revealed they illegally withheld $8.5 million in bettor winnings.

Charles Hayward, NYRA’s president and chief executive officer, and Patrick Kehoe, the association’s general counsel, were first placed on administrative leave without pay after the two “failed to perform their duties,” according to a statement by NYRA.

Days later, their full dismissal was made official Friday.

The state Racing and Wagering Board released a report April 29 indicating that NYRA withheld more money than what is legally allowed at Aqueduct, Belmont and Saratoga racetracks. The board oversees NYRA’s operations.

According to the report, NYRA charged bettors an extra percentage point on certain wagers from Sept. 15, 2010, through Dec. 21, 2011.

C. Steven Duncker, chairman of NYRA, said he was alerted to the improprieties in a letter from the state Franchise Oversight Board, which is headed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget chief, Robert Megna.

“NYRA takes the matters identified by the Franchise Oversight Board and the New York State Racing and Wagering Board extremely seriously,” Duncker said. “NYRA will take all appropriate steps and actions to cooperate with the state’s inquiries and insure the integrity of our operations. NYRA has worked diligently over the past number of years to improve the racing and agricultural industries in New York state and enhance its national status as an industry leader, and we will continue with that commitment.”

In response, Hayward said he was “extremely disappointed” with the board’s action and claimed that the report and the investigation were “flawed and admittedly incomplete.”

“The interim report badly misinterprets documents and was prepared without interviewing me or any other individuals relevant to their investigation,” he said. “I have been fully cooperating and will continue to fully cooperate with the NYRA board. I look forward to the Racing and Wagering Board and the New York inspector general completing their investigations as expeditiously as possible. I expect to be fully exonerated when all of the facts come out.”

But NYRA’s problems do not end with two top executives getting the boot. On Monday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called into question the association’s history and said legislative action is being considered.

Cuomo said he is considering legislative reform to NYRA, which has come under fire most recently for a rash of horse deaths at Aqueduct.

“It seems like there is a never-ending list of problems at NYRA,” Cuomo said in a radio address.

Resorts World Casino New York City, which operates the racino at Aqueduct in South Ozone Park, did not return requests for comment.

Reach reporter Steve Mosco by e-mail at smosco@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.

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By Rebecca Henely

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U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) visited Kaufman Astoria Studios Friday to demand the federal government kill a recommended review for an outdoor studio lot at the site so that the project could move ahead quickly.

The senator said the studio, the first planned for New York City, had already been reviewed by the National Park Service and that another review would be redundant and cause the city to lose out on potential movie productions.

“It’s time to say, ‘Action’ on this project, so that New York City can become the new star of the film and television industry,” Schumer said in a statement.

Kaufman Astoria Studios, at 34-12 36th St., hopes to expand its operations by building an outdoor studio lot by closing off 36th Street between 34th and 35th avenues, Schumer’s office said. The studio, which has a history going back to the 1920s, has been used to film TV shows such as “Sesame Street,” “Onion News Network” and “Nurse Jackie,” as well as movies like “Eat, Pray, Love,” “The Bourne Ultimatum” and “Men in Black 3.”

The $2 million expansion project, which includes an iconic entry gate on 36th Street on the 35th Avenue side, has gotten numerous approvals. A Uniform Land Use Review Procedure required approvals from the city Landmarks Preservation Commission, state Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service, which deeded the land to the city in the 1970s exclusively for film use.

But despite its original approval of the project, the National Park Service said it will need to re-review the project because the studio made some design changes to the entrance at the request of the city Public Design Commission.

“This outdoor lot could become an iconic New York City destination like the great studios of Hollywood, but the National Park Service needs to stop the needless bureaucratic delays and allow this project to move forward,” Schumer said.

The senator said park service’s review could hold up the project by three or four months. This could cause Kaufman Astoria to miss out on getting major productions by summer 2013.

“The back lot will add to the growth of the Kaufman Astoria Studios campus, the industry in New York and the economic development of the neighborhood,” Kaufman Astoria Studios President Hal Rosenbluth said in a statement.

Schumer wrote a letter to National Parks Director Jonathan Jarvis urging the project’s approval.

Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.

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The Rosedale Little League is gearing up for baseball to begin.

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By Phil Corso

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Two former Queens residents received lengthy prison sentences for their roles in the stabbing death of a 41-year-old father of two after an argument in Bellerose in February 2010, Queens district attorney Richard Brown said last Thursday.

According to the DA, Queens Supreme Court Justice Gregory L. Lasak sentenced Baljit Singh, 55, formerly of 88-32 239th St. in Bellerose, May 2 to 22 years in prison. He was convicted of first-degree manslaughter March 30 following a jury trial, the DA said.

Lasak also sentenced the second defendant of no relation, Ranjit Singh, 44, of Springfield Boulevard, May 2 to a determinate term of nine years in prison after he pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter in June 2011, the DA said.

Police found James Lizon, 41, of Jersey City, N.J., with knife wounds to his chest after a party around 1:40 a.m. at a house at 88th Avenue and 239th Street on Feb. 28, 2010, police said. He was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital, but was pronounced dead on arrival, authorities said.

According to trial testimony, an argument arose between the defendants and Lizon over the victim’s objection to the derogatory manner in which Baljit Singh was treating his girlfriend, who was also the sister of the victim’s roommate.

The DA said Ranjit Singh used a kitchen knife to stab the New Jersey man once in the chest before Baljit Singh then stabbed him once in the neck. Ranjit Singh then fled the scene and dumped the weapon on the ground yards away, the DA said.

“A father of two senselessly died when the defendants chose to escalate a verbal argument to a physical altercation, each of them stabbing the victim once and causing his death,” Brown said. “The convictions and sentences are a measure of justice for the victim’s friends and family.”

Reach reporter Phil Corso by e-mail at pcorso@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4573.

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BAYSIDE — Police from the 111th Precinct are seeking information on a suspect wanted in connection with an attempted robbery.

Cops said the victim was walking to his car, at 46th Avenue and 215th Street, Monday at 8:55 p.m. when a man described as black or Hispanic approached him from behind.

The suspect demanded money and became infuriated when it became apparent the victim did not have any cash, cops said. The suspect then allegedly struck the victim with an unknown object, leaving a laceration to the side of the victim’s neck, cops said.

There were no other witnesses and cops believe this was an isolated incident.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS(8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

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Emergency responders were called to the intersection of 229th Street and Hoxey Drive in Bayside last Thursday, where an SUV collided with a utility pole. At least one person was taken to the hospital following the accident.

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ROCKAWAY — While executing a search warrant at 84-12 Rockaway Beach Blvd., police observed smoke and a black male hanging out of a window on the sixth floor of 84-18 Rockaway Beach Blvd.

Police called the city Fire Department and, upon reaching the source of the fire on the sixth floor, could not enter the residence. The officers conducting the search warrant on the adjacent building were then called to the scene and were able to break down the door.

According to police, five victims were removed from the apartment and taken to area hospitals, where they were treated for minor injuries.

Police are currently investigating the cause of the blaze.

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ST. ALBANS — Cops were asking for help identifying and locating two suspects wanted in connection with two gunpoint robberies at local businesses.

On April 21, two black men, ages 20-25, entered a barbershop, at 134-18 Brewer Blvd., displayed a firearm and demanded money from the establishment and five patrons.

Later that same day, the two men entered a check-cashing business, at 114-08 Merrick Blvd., where they again robbed the business and a patron, cops said.

One suspect is described as a black male, 20-25 years old and about 5-foot-5 with a dark complexion. The other suspect is described as wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, light pants and black and white sneakers.

Anyone with information in regard to the identity or whereabouts of the suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

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Firefighters responded to an accident at the corner of 141st Avenue and 241st Street in Rosedale Friday morning. According to an FDNY spokesman, three people, including two with minor injuries and one person who was in serious but stable condition, were injured in the multi-vehicle crash.

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FOREST HILLS — The NYPD was seeking the public’s assistance in identifying two individuals wanted for grand larceny.

According to cops, two suspects used a stolen credit card to purchase various items at a CVS and Duane Reade in Forest Hills.

The suspects allegedly used the card of a 31-year-old female, who had her pocketbook stolen while inside 104-08 Metropolitan Ave, cops said.

The suspects are described as a male and female in their 20s, cops said.

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SOUTH OZONE PARK — The NYPD was asking for the public’s assistance in identifying and locating a black male suspect, aged 25-30, in connection with a grand larceny in South Ozone Park.

According to cops, while restocking a privately owned ATM with money, the victim realized a tire on his car was slashed. The victim placed a black messenger bag filled with cash on his front passenger seat, and a short time later realized it was stolen, cops said.

Area surveillance video captured the suspect, described as a black male, approximately 5-foot-8, wearing a red hooded sweatshirt, white T-shirt, dark pants and black and green sneakers. The suspect’s car is described as a gray four-door sedan — a 2011 or 2012 Lincoln MKS — with New York state license plates.

Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are strictly confidential.

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WOODSIDE — Cops need the public’s help in identifying a man wanted in connection with a robbery at gunpoint in Woodside.

According to police, two men approached two victims in front of 64-13 Broadway, where one man pointed a shotgun and the other removed the victims’ wallet, money, keys, cell phone and jewelry.

The suspect armed with the shotgun is described as a black male, age 25, between 5-foot-6 and 5-foot-8, weighing 140 pounds and wearing blue jeans and a red hooded sweatshirt, cops said.

The second suspect is described as a Hispanic male in his 20s, 5-foot-5 and wearing a black waist-length jacket and a green army baseball cap, cops said.

Anyone with information in regard to this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477). The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or by texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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WILLETS POINT — A man pedaling a bicycle near Citi Field was struck and killed Friday, police said.

At about 5:45 p.m., cops responded to a call of a pedestrian struck near the corner of Roosevelt Avenue and 126th Street.

When officers arrived, they found a 40-year-old Hispanic man lying on the ground with severe head trauma and the driver of a gray 2003 Nissan Altima, the NYPD said.

When emergency personnel arrived, they pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The driver, a 50-year-old woman, was traveling westbound on Roosevelt Avenue when she struck the cyclist who was riding in the same direction, police said.

There is no criminality suspected as of Tuesday evening, according to the NYPD.

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ASTORIA — The NYPD was asking for the public’s assistance in identifying three men wanted for a grand larceny on Steinway Street.

According to cops, three men entered Rite Aid, at 32-87 Steinway St., April 20 and stole Rogaine, Zyrtec, Crest White Strips, Allegra and Mucinex before fleeing the store.

Police said the first suspect is described as a black male, aged 20-30 and wearing a black jacket, white jeans and red sneakers. The second suspect is described as a black male wearing a yellow hard hat and green traffic vest. The third suspect is described as a black male wearing a white T-shirt and black jogging pants.

Anyone with information in regards to this grand larceny is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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JACKSON HEIGHTS — Cops were asking for the public’s assistance in identifying a suspect wanted for impersonating a police officer.

According to the NYPD, two suspects armed with switchblade knives entered a victim’s apartment while identifying themselves as officers March 9. The suspects demanded money, to which the victim complied.

Cops identified one of the suspects as Julian Rodriguez, 25, a Hispanic male described as 5-foot-7 and weighing 169 pounds with short black hair.

Anyone with information in regards to Rodriguez’s whereabouts and the robbery is asked to call NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS. The public can also submit their tips by logging on to the Crime Stoppers Website at nypdcrimestoppers.com or texting their tips to 274637(CRIMES) then enter TIP577.

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WOODSIDE — A 79-year-old Woodside woman was found dead in her Woodside home last week, police said.

Zenaida Gonzales was found in the basement of a house, at 55th Street and 31st Avenue, May 2 after a call was dispatched to the police at 7:03 p.m., NYPD said.

Police said they and the city Medical Examiner’s Office are looking into the cause of Gonzales’ death.

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There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. “The Great Gatsby”, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Curiosity, as well as my illusions, got me to The Public Theater on a Friday to see the Elevator Repair Service’s production of “GATZ,” the word-for-word entire text of Fitzgerald’s masterpiece, performed by 13 actors. The reviews were positive, especially by Ben Brantley in The New York Times, who called it an exciting and improbable accomplishment. “The Great Gatsby” is considered to be one of America’s best novels but, I wondered, how good could this really be as a play.

The answer is, of course, real good, with superb staging and acting, most notably by Scott Shepherd, who played the narrator Nick Carraway. But a production like this is not for the faint of heart — it’s 6 1/2 hours long, plus two intermissions and a dinner break, eight hours all together. Definitely worth seeing however, and a lesson as to how creative and compelling theater can be.

Debbie Starker, the mover and shaker behind Deb’s Web, the online site dedicated to theater happenings on Long Island, with a nod or two to Queens and other exotic locales, says that she’s tired of the “same-old, same-old” productions of musicals and plays, all too common in our non-professional venues. Those regular readers of this column know that I share that criticism. This spring two of our major and long-lived local companies are offering old murder mysteries, presumably with the expectation that that’s what their audiences want to see. Perhaps the increasing difficulty in filling their seats might tell them otherwise.

Not that I’m suggesting that our locals take on “GATZ” — let’s not go overboard — but there is so much entertaining and provocative contemporary material to choose from, that, with very few exceptions, never gets produced this side of the East River. Sheila Rhyne, former Flushing resident now entrenched on the Upper West Side, sees just about every show there is to see. She points out that most of the good stuff is done Off Broadway, although seldom for a long run. Many of our theater-going residents would welcome the opportunity to see these shows close to home at a more affordable ticket price.

The current Tony nominations recognize a number of productions that were hits Off Broadway, such as “Once” and “Clybourne Park.” Broadway remains solvent mainly from tourist dollars, so don’t expect anything too daring there. Mounting costs cause producers to be risk-averse — only one of three shows on the Great White Way make a profit — and revivals and celebrity names flourish.

Remembering my father’s love of the works of Gilbert & Sullivan, I recently attended The Collegiate Chorale’s concert version of “The Mikado” at Carnegie Hall, backed by the American Symphony Orchestra. The lead performers included Kelli O’Hara as Yum-Yum, fresh from her great success in “South Pacific,” and Christopher Fitzgerald as Ko-Ko, who was the leprechaun in the revival of “Finian’s Rainbow.” (I wish one of our local groups would do that show: the score is terrific and the book timely.) For a top-notch vocal ensemble here in Queens, check out the Oratorio Society headed by maestro David Close.

W.S. Gilbert was surely the greatest of British lyric writers, an ability lacking in the United Kingdom since his day. We Americans have cornered the market in memorable phrases in our theater songs, Stephen Sondheim being the latest example. See his two volumes on “Finishing the Hat” for the proof.

Happy birthday to my favorite mother-in-law, Rickey, 94, on May 3.

Contact Ron Hellman at rbh24@Columbia.edu.

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By Tammy Scileppi

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David Copperfield, step aside. For 20-plus years, husband and wife performers and illusionists Kevin and Cindy Spencer have been famous for bringing their unique entertainment style to the magic-deprived. The duo’s mind-boggling, fast-paced, state-of-the-art illusions have had audiences from Las Vegas to Taiwan wondering: “How’d they do that?”

And now Spencers Theatre of Illusion is headed to Bayside for their first-ever Big Apple magic show at Queensborough Performing Arts Center on Sunday, May 13.

Forget those old school, magic wand-waving, pulling a rabbit out of a hat tricks.

You can expect a suspense-filled, interactive, high-tech experience that will make Houdini roll over in his grave — packed with lots of drama, a dose of comedy and even a little romance. Is it reality or illusion? You’ll decide.

The Spencers, who call their production Theatre of Illusion because it’s a combination of their love for theater and passion for the art of illusion, said in a recent interview, “There are so few entertainment options in today’s society that the entire family can enjoy together.”

The wow factor

The family-oriented Theatre of Illusion will showcase some of the greatest magic stuff in the world “combined with all the wonderful elements of a Broadway production — lighting, music, movement and storytelling — to create a magical concert for your eyes. This is theater in the truest sense of the word,” said Kevin Spencer, who gets to live every boy’s dream of becoming a magician.

Always conjuring up new tricks and ideas, he said, “It’s definitely a collaborative effort. We work with leading inventors, creators, directors, writers and choreographers in our industry.”

The creative duo believes the real challenge is turning the ‘secret’ of magic into an entertaining presentation that raises the artistic level of magic. “For us, performing an illusion is as much a skill as a pianist who learns to play Rachmaninoff,” said Kevin Spencer.

Since Houdini, he said the art of magic has made great strides, with more magicians embracing technologies of the day rather than fearing them.

“But the evolution of the art has to be about creating new wonders that capture the imaginations of our audience and engage them emotionally and intellectually,” he said.

Early on in his career, Kevin Spencer discovered the healing powers of magic.

He was hurt during a bad car accident, suffering brain and spinal cord injuries that required him to spend several months in physical/occupational therapy. After his recovery, he worked with a group of therapists to find a way to make therapeutic exercises fun and motivating. A program was born — The Healing of Magic — used today in more than 2,000 facilities in over 30 countries.

“I have the privilege of training therapists around the world in the concepts of using simple magic tricks as a therapeutic tool,” said Kevin. This summer, in Ireland, he’s starting an extensive research project, helping people with hand injuries.

Hocus Pocus is another project developed by the Spencers to help students with educational challenges become excited about learning.

“By integrating magic tricks into core curriculums, students can tap into the creative process and learn facts and concepts they can see, touch, manipulate and talk about,” said Kevin.

To be a success as a magician, Kevin Spencer sought advice from his mentor, Doug Henning, the Canadian illusionist who pioneered the trick of cutting an assistant into thirds and reassembling her unharmed.

“Always be yourself,” Henning told him. “The audience will recognize a fake or a phony.”

According to the Spencers, who were recently named International Magicians of the Year and Performing Arts Entertainers of the Year (Six times).

“There are as many different types of magicians as there are dancers and musicians,” Kevin Spencer said. “A great magician is someone who is honest with his audience, performing because of his love for the art and his desire to take them someplace magical, where anything is possible.”

This season the illusionists are touring Spain, Italy, Turkey and the United States.

Based in Lynchburg, Va., Team Spencer started out as a show that could fit in the back of a cargo van but has grown into one of the largest touring illusion productions in the country, filling a 65-foot semi-truck and trailer.

IF YOU GO

Spencers Theatre of Illusion

May 13 at 3 p.m.

Queensborough Community College

222-05 56th Ave., Bayside, Queens

(718) 631-6311

www.qcc.cuny.edu/qpac

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By Zach Braziller

TimesLedger Newspapers

Cavon Baker was determined to play Division I basketball.

It didn’t matter that he didn’t have any interest during his career at Thomas Edison, that he didn’t have any scholarship offers for much of last spring and summer on the AAU circuit or even that when Bryant came into the picture late and did present him with an opportunity, it didn’t work out because he failed to meet the school’s heightened academic standards.

Baker, a qualifier out of Edison, went to New Hope Academy in Maryland to make his dream a reality. After a stellar season in which he helped the prep school go 30-4, the Cambria Heights product finally realized his dream. Baker verbally committed to Florida Atlantic and former St. John’s Coach Mike Jarvis May 2, picking the Sun Belt Conference school over Iona and Hartford.

“I’m excited, anxious all in one,” the 6-foot-1 combo guard said. “I feel accomplished, I feel good. My hard work paid off, a year of prep paid off. It was my goal to play Division I basketball. I stuck with my dream of playing Division I.”

Baker developed a bond with Jarvis and his son, assistant Mike Jarvis II, who was his lead recruiter. Mike Jarvis, who nearly guided St. John’s to the Final Four in 1999, has coached at the Division I level for 21 years and has taken three schools to the NCAA Tournament, put in a lot of time with Baker, and when he wasn’t checking in, his son was.

“It’s always cool when the head coach calls you and expresses how much he wants you,” Baker said. “Overall, it came down to me being comfortable with Coach Jarvis. My relationship with Coach Jarvis made me pick FAU. He’s a straightforward guy and the whole time he was recruiting me, he contacted me the most within the guidelines he could. We had real conversations.”

Baker was frustrated with his lack of Division I interest last year, but used it at motivation. He enjoyed a solid AAU season with the Raising Champions, putting in solid performances in the iS8 Nike/Spring League, Hoop Group End of Summer Classic, among others.

“He took off from there,” Raising Champions Coach Hasani Stewart said.

Bryant was ready to take him, Stewart said, but he was one class short. Instead, Baker headed for prep school and continued to evolve as a player and as a person. At New Hope Academy, Baker was on his own for the first time.

“My father called it pre-college, I had to grow up fast and be responsible,” he said. “I was out there for a reason, to play basketball and get better overall. It was a great experience. It opened up the opportunity to play Division I basketball.”

An opportunity he made the most of.

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By Marc Raimondi

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Cardozo players bounded out of the dugout, mobbing Gabriella Valdes at home plate. Minutes later, they came together around Kelly Phillips on the pitcher’s circle for a seemingly choreographed chant and dance. When they arrived back at the dugout area, Coach Pete Douglas was greeted with a rah-rah speech and the chanting of the girls’ names.

If one didn’t know any better, it would seem like a typical Judges season. Happy. Unified. Together.

It hasn’t been quite like that, but perhaps it’s getting there. Just a little more than a month after longtime Coach Larry Alberts was stunningly removed, Cardozo knocked off rival Bayside 2-1 in eight softball innings, on Phillips’ walk-off RBI single last Thursday in Oakland Gardens.

With this win and a victory over Francis Lewis May 1, the Judges (11-2) are now tied with Bayside (11-2) atop PSAL Queens A-I. The thought of that seemed out of the realm of possibility in late March, when Alberts was escorted from the field during practice by school safety officers. City Department of Education spokeswoman Marge Feinberg said at the time that the 26th-year coach was dismissed pending an investigation for the use of inappropriate language.

“It’s been tough, but we’re getting through it,” Cardozo ace Shelby Yacovone said. “We had no idea [Alberts would get fired]. None of us wanted that. It was shocking.”

Yacovone did her part against Bayside, allowing just a single hit in eight innings and striking out seven. Cardozo trailed 1-0 in the bottom of the seventh when Krystle Roldan led off with an inside-the-park home run to right center.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, the Judges pulled off the dramatic. Valdes lined a double down the left field line and Phillips pulled a hard-hit single just under the glove of Tara Bernstein at shortstop to plate the speedy Valdes.

“I’m a senior,” Phillips said. “I wanted to come through for my team. I wanted to do it for them.”

It’s been a rough season. Cardozo lost to Francis Lewis 10-2 following Alberts’ dismissal. Two weeks ago, the Judges were run-ruled by Bryant 12-2. But they feel like right now they are hitting their stride under Douglas, the former longtime baseball coach at Cardozo.

“They’re two different coaches,” Yacovone said. “But they’re both great coaches. We love them both.”

Douglas looks rejuvenated and says he has really enjoyed the experience.

“They’re wonderful girls,” he said. “It’s just a delight. Just their personalities, their attitudes. They’re so positive, so together. It’s just a joy.”

Yacovone has stepped up huge recently. She struck out 14 and gave up just two earned runs in that 8-5 win against Lewis. For the season, she’s sporting a 2.80 ERA with 70 strikeouts in 60 innings pitched. Douglas marveled at her “poise and determination.”

“She is great,” Phillips said. “She keeps her composure. Nothing bothers her. She never gets rattled, always consistent.”

Not getting rattled could be the credo of this season at Cardozo. The Judges could have been reeling with the loss of one coach and the transition to another. Instead, they have a chance to win a third division title in four years.

“What happened, none of us felt good about it,” Phillips said. “We just had to get past it for the sake of the season.”

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By Marc Raimondi

TimesLedger Newspapers

Jazmine Hamlet had her plan set. As of early April, she didn’t have the Division I school she wanted. So the Francis Lewis guard figured she would go to a junior college for a year with hopes to earn some more interest.

“I was gonna go to Monroe [in Rochester], get better and then come out,” Hamlet said.

Her plans got turned upside down — in a good way — just two weeks ago. Hamlet went down to the Boo Williams Unsigned HS Senior Showcase in Virginia with players from her Long Island Lightning Dingle travel team. That’s where Wagner College and new Coach Lisa Cermignano saw her play.

Not long after, Hamlet got a call and a scholarship offer from the Staten Island school. And May 2 on her official visit, the 5-foot-7 guard committed to play women’s basketball for Wagner, realizing her Division I dream.

“It’s like we’re all new to the situation, being that she’s a new coach, I’m new to college,” Hamlet said. “They were just really cool.”

Cermignano, a New Jersey native, comes to Wagner with quite the résumé. She was an assistant coach at Illinois for the last three years and at Vanderbilt before that. Cermignano was also a Hall-of-Fame player at George Washington. Hamlet was wowed by her credentials.

“That was one of the biggest attractions,” the Harlem native said. “I know if I decide to go further with this, she can help me.”

Hamlet was one of the driving forces behind Francis Lewis’ back-to-back trips to the PSAL Class AA semifinals. One of the best clutch players in the PSAL, she had 13 points and two huge baskets late to seal a quarterfinal win over Truman back in March. Hamlet has never been afraid to take a big shot.

“She just always plays hard,” Lewis Coach Steve Tsai said. “She’s fearless. She added that dimension. That’s something we’ll be missing. You can replace players, but her heart I don’t think you can replace.”

Added one Division I assistant coach, “She’s a very quick and athletic guard who despite her size makes up for it with heart and determination. Definitely a steal this late in the process. She’ll be a good piece to the rebuilding of that program.”

It has been a trying few months for her. Hamlet started her high school career at St. Michael Academy under Coach Apache Paschall, who died suddenly Jan. 3 of cardiac arrest. She was also close with fellow Harlem resident and Murry Bergtraum star Tayshana “Chicken” Murphy, who was murdered in September.

“Jazmine had a tough time,” said Long Island Lightning Dingle travel Coach Jaywana Bradley, who also coaches at Manhattan Center. “I am really happy for her. Especially with Apache, too, it hit her extra hard. Showing that she can handle things like that in life is a good thing. She stayed focused on her academics, that was the most important thing.”

Tsai said after the Patriots lost to Murry Bergtraum in the semifinals, Hamlet was a different person. She took it harder than anyone.

“Since then, you wouldn’t know she’s the same Hamlet,” Tsai said. “She’s matured so much. She’s worked harder and is more focused. Even teachers in the school say she’s much different.”

Now she has found a nice fit for her future, a Division I school not far from home and her mother, Venus Keith, who she is close with. The plans to go the junior college route have been scrapped. Hamlet won’t have to wait any longer to be a Division I player.

“It was satisfying,” Hamlet said. “That was nice to know that I could go right into it. I feel like I can be a contributor right now. Just doing the little things for them, that’s what I feel like I can do.”

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By Marc Raimondi

TimesLedger Newspapers

Michael Hay has seen the lowest of the low. So when the highs come, he appreciates them even more.

The Holy Cross alumnus and Syracuse offensive lineman signed an NFL free-agent contract with the St. Louis Rams April 29, a day after the draft wrapped up. His former Cross teammate Darryl Whiting also penned a deal with the Tennessee Titans, making three potential NFL players from the Flushing school next season with Dallas Cowboys receiver Kevin Ogletree.

For Hay, though, the journey is what makes this destination so incredible.

“You must have hit every bump in the road, but you denied the doubters and kept it going,” Cross Coach Tom Pugh told him April 30.

As a senior with the Knights, the 6-foot-5, 283-pound manchild was a highly touted prospect on one of the best teams in the city. Hay and four teammates opened the season with a bevy of Division I interest. Yet, for reasons he still doesn’t understand, none of them earned an offer by season’s end.

Hay signed with Division II C.W. Post, but a turning point in his life occurred the summer between high school and college. In a fight in his hometown of College Point, Hay was stabbed in his chest, right underneath his left arm.

The knife cut through his rib cage, punctured his stomach and diaphragm and collapsed his lung. It came dangerously close to vital organs, such as his heart. Hay was rushed to the hospital and ended up in the ICU. He lost 60 pounds after surgery and was told he wouldn’t play football again.

“That’s one of those lines that sticks with you the rest of your life, someone telling you that you can’t do something,” Hay said.

To compound matters, Hay was cuffed at the hospital that night and read his Miranda rights — he was being arrested for battery. Just hours later, his younger brother Chris was in the same hospital with a broken orbital bone he obtained during a struggle with police during his own arrest.

Hay had hit rock bottom.

“Here’s your close call,” Hay said he told himself at the time. “Re-evaluate everything and figure out what you’re doing with yourself. Do I want to be stuck in this neighborhood or do I want to realize my dreams?”

At that point, Hay dedicated himself to football. Despite a drop from 290 pounds to 230, he was in the weightroom well before he was cleared. Hay redshirted his freshman season at C.W. Post, but he felt healthy and strong enough in workouts to come to the conclusion that he could play on a higher level of football.

With transferring in mind, Hay went to Nassau Community College the following summer to enroll in classes to get a head start. He was targeting Glendale Community College as his potential destination. While on campus at Nassau, though, he ran into then-football assistant Curtis Gilliam. He convinced him to meet with then-head Coach John Anselmo. Hay did so with his mother Maria. Anselmo was convincing. Hay stayed home and went to Nassau.

“It was just a comfort level that I haven’t felt since Coach Pugh,” Hay said of Anselmo. “Me and my mother both trusted him.”

A year and a half later, Hay had his associate degree and was named an All-Northeast Football Conference second team selection. He earned a scholarship to Syracuse, where Anselmo got a job as secondary coach a year earlier.

With the Orange, Hay started all but one game in two seasons at right tackle for head Coach Doug Marrone. Following his graduation in December, Hay signed with agent Pat Lawlor and dropped everything to move to Boca Raton and train at World Class Speed upon the advice of Lawlor.

Hay’s name wasn’t called in the draft this weekend. Near the end of the seventh round, knowing he wouldn’t be taken, he left the place he was staying at in Florida and took a walk.

“I needed a little breather,” Hay said.

Maria followed him and sat him down for a talk. Getting taken in the draft, she told her son, would have exceeded expectations. Five minutes later, Hay got a text from Rams scout Russ Bolinger, whom he had met weeks earlier at a combine. Bolinger said to call him and Hay did so immediately.

“He asked me how would I like to be a St. Louis Ram?” Hay said. “I let him know that would be the opportunity of the lifetime, something I’ve been working for my entire life.”

Pugh, who is in constant contact with Hay, told him not to worry when he wasn’t selected in the draft.

“This is for the best,” Pugh said. “[The Rams] liked him. They like his attitude. He brings an edge.”

Hay will now stay in Boca and get ready for mini-camp. Six years after being rushed to ICU, Hay has a chance to play in the NFL.

“This is just the end of one chapter,” he said. “The rest of the book still needs to be written.”

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By Zach Braziller

TimesLedger Newspapers

PENNINGTON, N.J. — Emphatic dunks, feathery three-point shots, impressive moves around the hoop — Jermaine Lawrence showed his entire arsenal Saturday afternoon.

Flanked by some of the East Coast’s top juniors and sophomores, the ever-improving 6-foot-10 former Cardozo basketball swingman continued his steady climb. Lawrence poured in 27 points to take home MVP honors in the second annual Mary Kline Classic underclassmen all-star game, a showcase to raise money for cancer research, at Pennington HS in New Jersey.

The performance was just the latest impressive display by the Jamaica native in what has become a breakout spring. He dazzled in back-to-back weekends in Hoop Group Jam Fest showcases in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh with the New Rens, his AAU team, showed limitless range and an explosive finishing ability in the lane.

Following last weekend, he landed scholarship offers from Baylor, Kansas, UNLV, Temple and Florida to go along with existing ones from Syracuse, St. John’s, Maryland, Louisville, Villanova, Rutgers and Cincinnati, among others.

“I just wanted to play my ‘A’ game, not force anything and let my game come to me, keep improving,” he said. “I really expected it to happen, especially how good I’ve been playing.”

It all began a month ago in the 23rd annual Basketball World Tournament, when Lawrence and a group of fellow prospects partook in international competition. He returned more determined, he said, tougher and confident against players his age. The team’s least-known player at the time, Lawrence learned a lot facing older competition.

“We were playing against pros,” said Lawrence, who now attends Pope John XXIII in Sparta, N.J. “Seeing how tough they are, gave me insight into the next level. It made me play tougher and more aggressive when I came back.”

National recruiting analysts raved about him on Twitter and included him in their daily write-ups. College coaches have begun to fawn over him.

“He’s a special talent and when it’s all said and done with hard work he could be arguably one of the best players in his class,” one Division I coach familiar with Lawrence said. Another coach described him as someone capable of playing either forward position with “great upside.”

Pope John Coach Jason Hasson wasn’t surprised, because of how hard Lawrence has worked in recent months, most notably after getting back from France. Following the trip to Pittsburgh, he was in the weight room 15 minutes after classes ended Monday.

“I would say he’s a top 10 player in his class, that’s my personal opinion,” Hasson said. “Only because how hard he works he’s gonna get better and better and better.”

Alexes Hargrove, a friend of the family helping in Lawrence’s recruitment, said he will cut his list to five at some point in August. Lawrence said he has no favorites, but Cincinnati assistant Darren Savino has made a major push.

“Darren has been at every game, almost everywhere Jermaine has been,” Hargrove said. “Either him or [head Coach] Mick Cronin show up to support Jermaine.”

After watching Lawrence in Philadelphia, UNLV told Hargrove they plan to be around a lot in the coming months. Rutgers has been involved with Lawrence since he came of age at Cardozo, with Van Macon consistently checking in, Hargrove said. St. John’s was one of the first major Division I programs to offer Lawrence and they remain a factor as well.

Lawrence said location won’t play a role in his commitment. He is looking for a team which plays an up-tempo style, can offer his immediate minutes and he feels comfortable at.

For now, Lawrence just wants to continue his recent tear. He’ll have plenty of opportunities as he will compete in the Kevin Durant and LeBron James skills academies, the NBA Top 100 Camp and the Pangos All-American Camp.

“I had to separate myself from the pack and make noise,” he said. “It’s real exciting, but it makes me want to work harder so I can make noise on the next level.”

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By Zach Braziller

TimesLedger Newspapers

Ryan Rhoomes described the last year of his life as hell. Instead of starting his college career at TCU, he was back home in Middleton, N.Y., working two jobs and using his sparse free time to stay in shape.

If not for the lost year, however, Rhoomes might not have chosen Fordham, as he did on Friday.

“I look at things different now,” said the former Cardozo basketball standout, who was one of six NIA prep players declared academically ineligible last summer when the NCAA refused to approve classes from the Newark, N.J., school.

Instead of getting caught up in big names, such as interested parties like St. John’s, Seton Hall and Temple, Rhoomes looked for the place that suited him best, where he would be the most valuable and used properly. That place was Fordham, a guard-heavy program in need of a forward like the 6-foot-9 Rhoomes.

“I could’ve gone to a big-name school, but you have to look at yourself, how you play,” he said. “At Fordham I can do what I have to do to get better and play. I was looking at my situation. I felt like Fordham is the best bet.”

Rhoomes was comfortable with Fordham for several reasons. At the top of the list, the team is full of city standouts he is familiar with, from former John F. Kennedy star Jeffrey Short to Boys & Girls’ Lamount Samuell and Midwood’s Bryan Smith. He talked to all of them on his visit May 1 and left impressed.

“Everything felt right,” he said. “I know how they play, they know how I play. That’s why I decided to go there.”

Then there is the coaching staff, led by head man Tom Pecora and assistant David Duke, a Cardozo alumnus like Rhoomes who was his lead recruiter. When Rhoomes was denied by the NCAA last year, he considered paying tuition for a year of college and Fordham was one of those schools. Duke and Pecora kept in close contact with him when he decided to go back home.

“That made it seem like they really wanted me,” Rhoomes said.

Rhoomes does have work to do, more on the court than off. He still has one online course to make up — he’s taken two already — but he said he has talked to the NCAA and has been told the classes, based out of New Jersey Virtual School, meet their approval. Without playing organized basketball for more than a year, he is in far from basketball shape and when he worked out at Fordham was extremely rusty.

If he can get back to where he was at NIA Prep, Cardozo Coach Ron Naclerio thinks Fordham has a find in his former pupil.

“Tom Pecora just called me and he says Ryan is the best big man he’s ever gotten, whether he was at Hofstra or Fordham,” said Naclerio, who aided Rhoomes in the process. “They need a big guy. One thing they’re gonna find out about Ryan is he’s very efficient down low. He doesn’t take a lot of shots. He’s a team player. He’s gonna rebound, he knows how to play. He runs the court.”

The coach added, “Two years from now, he can be vying for all-Atlantic 10 honors.”

Rhoomes isn’t worried about two years down the road. He’s focused on the present, passing his final class and helping Fordham move up in the Atlantic 10. His year away from basketball made him realize how important it was to him.

“It made me a stronger person,” he said. “I don’t want to be home not playing basketball.”

Fordham couldn’t be happier he got his priorities in order.

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By Joseph Staszewski

TimesLedger Newspapers

Alina Cerda provided a big finish to a big day for Francis Lewis.

The senior delivered a no-doubt blast to left center well over the head of the outfielder for a grand slam as part of a five-run fifth inning. It was the cap of Cerda’s five-RBI day and helped give the Patriots an impressive 13-1 five-inning, run-rule win over rival and host Bayside in PSAL Queens A-I softball May 8.

“It topped it off,” Cerda said. “I did feel like shedding some tears once I got home. It feels really great.”

The win avenges a 6-1 loss from earlier in the season and wreaks continued havoc on the division standings. Lewis Coach Bryan Brown called it his team’s best all-around performance of the season. His team excelled in all three phases showing off a balanced offense, superb defense and the Patriots got stellar pitching from Priscilla Lallave. The win moves Lewis, last year’s division champ, into a tie in the loss column with Bayside and gives Cardozo a chance to win the division outright.

“We played well defensively, we played small ball,” Brown said. “We had them a little off balance. This is perfect timing.”

Lewis (11-3), which reached the semifinals last season, used a mix of small ball and big hits. It got a run in the first inning on a bunt single by center fielder Kiara Libreros. The Patriots scored five more times in the fifth to take a 7-0 lead, highlighted by an RBI single by Cerda and a two-run double by Neileni Esmeral, who also threw out a runner at home to end the fourth.

They added another run in the fourth when Samantha Stelloh singled home Bianca Concepcion, who was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Samantha Lallave also had three hits and scored twice. Priscilla Lallave, her older sister, allowed just a run in the fourth on an RBI single by Tina Faracci. She gave up just five hits, walked two and struck out six. She missed her team’s recent loss to Cardozo while visiting her grandmother in Puerto Rico.

“It just shows that it doesn’t matter what kind of hit you get, if you get a grand slam like Alina did or get a little fake weird bunt thing like I did, it doesn’t matter,” Concepcion said. “Things will happen.”

Bayside Coach Maggie Kassimis was disappointed by her team’s effort in such an important game as they managed just a lone run in the fourth to make it 7-1. Pitcher Heidi Gomez collected two hits and scored a run. The Commodores (12-3) suffered their second straight loss and watched their bats continue to go quiet. Kassimis credited Lewis, a squad she thought was the team to beat in the division when the year began. She is now interested to see how her young team responds to some adversity late in the season.

“This is a very young team,” Kassimis said. “They have a lot of spirit. They have a lot of heart. We will get it together before the playoffs.”

Francis Lewis, on the other hand, sees itself playing its best softball with the postseason right around the corner.

“Not only did we hit great, we fielded phenomenally,” Concepcion said. “Our pitcher did great. We worked like a well-oiled machine.”

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TimesLedger Newspapers

The Hollis Bellaire Queens Village Bellerose Athletic Association kicked off its season with a parade recently.

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By Rich Bockmann

TimesLedger Newspapers

Few things have the ability to bring you back to your childhood — like a chorus of aquarium filters bubbling away — but whether you are looking for that $5 goldfish you had when you were young, or are in the market for an elaborate, underwater environment, Fish World USA in Auburndale offers a treasure trove of booty.

In business since 1969, the store stocks a wide variety of freshwater and saltwater ornamental fish — the kind you do not eat — and staffer George Jacome said the shop will order anything that is not on-hand.

“Certain fish are in season. A lot of the freshwater fish are farm-raised, so they’re pretty much always available,” he said. “Anything else we can pretty much get within a week.”

The more exotic saltwater species come from tropical regions all over the world, like the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean and Indonesia. These fish, Jacome said, vary in availability from month to month.

Walking into Fish World USA, at 196-33 Northern Blvd., is a practice in sensory therapy. Dimly lit to show off the vibrant colors of creatures propelling themselves effortlessly while suspended inside rows of softly resounding tanks, the store’s atmosphere underscores the appeal to fish fans.

“I’d say the No. 1 thing is that it’s stress relief,” Jacome said.

Prices start out at just a few dollars and start to climb up to the $60 to $70 range for types with colorful names like Japanese Swallow Angels, Yellow Long Nose Butterflies and Albino Red Oscars.

For those looking to drop some loot, a Blue Face Angel will set you back $199, and Jacome said some of the rarer species can cost thousands of dollars. And, since you would not put a $2,000 fish in a $3 plastic fish bowl, the store carries aquariums up in the 90-gallon range and everything you would need to create your marine habitat.

Fancy the idea of your fish swimming around in the desert? Fish World USA has kitschy backgrounds for you.

Are you the traditionalist? The store has miniature sunken pirate ships, downed WW II airplanes and deep-sea explorers, as well as natural flourishes like sand, gravel, stone, lava rocks, crystal geodes and driftwood.

Some enthusiasts prefer their underwater wonderlands full of dancing marine reefs. Coral reef systems are some of the priciest items in the store, starting off just shy of $4,000.

One must be careful, though, when mixing varieties of sea life, and Jacome said the store’s staff is well-educated on which creatures mix well with others.

Jacome said technology has come a long way in the past few years, such as the pre-made saltwater the store carries, as opposed to the synthetic sea salt mixes customers used to have to deal with.

One of the most attractive reasons for choosing fish as pets, though, may never change.

“You don’t have to walk them,” said employee Michelle Lovascio.

Fish Town USA opens at 10 a.m. seven days a week and closes at 9 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 p.m. on Saturday and 6 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 718-593-5396 or visit fishtown-usa.com.

Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.

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By Tip Sempliner

TimesLedger Newspapers

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By Dee Richard

TimesLedger Newspapers

The weeks keep flying by. It just doesn’t seem possible that in less than three weeks we will be celebrating Memorial Day and all the fun parades Queens is famous for. Fortunately, they are spread out over the Memorial Day weekend, making it possible to view more than one. Aside from the fun and festivities of the parades, it’s a good time to reflect on how lucky we are to be living in such a wonderful country.

Memorial Day weekend is the beginning of summer, which is everyone’s favorite time of the year.

Here at the condo where I live, everyone is busy getting the outdoor furniture out on their balconies or terraces, as well as trimming bushes, planting geraniums and inpatients, etc. They are also cleaning out their car trunks and garages and all the rest of the usual annual “rites of spring” stuff.

The end of the condo property is waterfront. Our next door neighbor is the Beechhurst Marina. The owner is equally busy launching all his clients’ boats at their summer moorings. It’s always a pleasure to sit on your balcony and watch the varied and beautiful boats go by. It’s so nice to live in an area that has four distinct seasons. Just one season all year would seem monotonous.

This past week, we attended Bayside’s Queensborough Community College annual gala dinner at Terrace on the Park, the Queens Civic Congress Luncheon at Antun’s in Queens Village, the Saul Weprin Club’s 52nd annual dinner at the Hollis Hills Jewish Center, a legal defense fund-raiser/cocktail party for John Haggerty in Manhattan and a Sunday brunch fund-raiser for Matt Silverstein at his new apartment on Bell Boulevard in Bayside.

Matt is the Democratic district leader in state Assemblyman Ed Braunstein’s district. He is going to run for Dan Halloran’s City Council seat. Matt belongs to the Jefferson Democratic Club. Needless to say a lot of the members attended to show support for one of their own.

Just a few of the guests who dropped by while I was there were Carol Gresser, Debbie Markell, Barry Kleinert, Mary Conaty, Warren Schreiber and John Duane. Last but not least we attended the Queens County Bar Association’s annual dinner and installation of the officers and managers at Terrace on the Park.

The first dinner of the Queens County Bar Association was in 1876. That makes the association 136 years old. That’s some impressive history.

Richard Gutierrez is the outgoing president, Joseph Risi is the president-elect. The guest speaker was A. Gail Prudenti, the chief administrative judge of the state of New York. The introductions were made by the Sidney F. Strauss, justice of the Supreme Court of Queens and the chairman of the annual dinner committee.

The Queens County Bar Association is a wonderful organization. It supports the Queens Volunteer Lawyers Projects Inc., a legal assistance nonprofit providing attorneys on a pro-bono basis to Queens residents who cannot afford to retain a lawyer.

They are also responsible for the Queens Foreclosure Conference Project, which is comprised of attorneys providing free legal assistance to Queens homeowners facing foreclosure.

There is also the Queens County Bar Association Scholarship Fund, which offers financial assistance to law students who are residents of Queens or who attend a law school in Queens. Recipients of the QCBA are chosen based on academic achievement, community service and financial need.

The 2012 scholarship award recipient is Priscilla Andrea Molina, who is a third-year student at St. John’s University School of Law. Congratulations to Priscilla on being awarded the scholarship, Everyone is looking forward to her becoming a valuable member of the bar.

That’s it for this week.

I look forward to your voice mails at 718-767-6484, faxes at 718-746-0066 and e-mails at deerrichard@aol.com.

Till next week, Dee.

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By Bob Harris

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two expansion proposals are slowly wending their way forward. New York University wants to expand in Greenwich Village, Manhattan. The city also wants developers to demolish the Iron Triangle in Willets Point and build giant, mixed-use buildings and other properties.

The arguments for these projects is economic development, but the arguments against are loss of private property and breaking zoning agreements made decades ago.

When NYU expanded decades ago, it was given public land under the restriction that it would leave some of it as public space and not build there. Now it wants to get permission to build high buildings with the same volume as the Empire State Building below Washington Square.

The city Planning Commission held a hearing April 25 with hundreds of residents, preservationists, NYU faculty and students speaking out against the plan. If passed, the plan would go to the City Council. With NYU expanding in Brooklyn and Manhattan, one wonders if it can finance this project.

Will the economic development balance the taking away of green spaces and imposing massive buildings in the Village? On May 1, NYU faculty and students held a rally against the expansion. If NYU gets away with this land grab, will St. John’s University get ideas to expand?

It has expanded on the north and south sides of Union Turnpike near 150th Street. North of that location are some private religious schools. How much increased density of mass and population can Queens absorb without the lowering of the quality of life?

A few years ago, the city proposed tearing down the various shops in Willets Point to let developers build. The Iron Triangle looked a little scrawny with scrap yards and car shops on streets marked by mud and with no sewers or sidewalks. The city never put in the infrastructure needed for the businesses there.

Annoying many people is the fact that private developers will build with city help. The city wanted to use eminent domain to take over private property so private developers can build. Eminent domain is an accepted practice of a municipality or other government taking private property so land can be used for the public good by the government.

The current use of this practice would enrich developers, hedge fund operators and banks, among others. Now the city says it will not use eminent domain for private development. Hopefully, the city will stick to this new policy.

This misuse of eminent domain and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling backing it, has angered enough people so much that the U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill called the Private Property Rights Protection Act of 2012 in February.

The bill would cut federal funding to municipalities or state governments, which use eminent domain to foster economic development. The bill would also prohibit the federal government from using eminent domain for economic development. Perhaps this is why the city just changed its policy. We will watch to see what happens in the future.

GOOD NEWS OF THE WEEK: Two of the proposed schools designated for closure were removed from the closure list. One of the schools which had been deemed as being poor was Brooklyn’s Bushwick Community High School.

The school should never have been on a closing list because the 300-plus students all had been failing in other schools. At this school they were learning and advancing toward graduation, but due to their problems more time is needed for the students to succeed.

This shows how the city Department of Education thinks — or, in this case, does not — until confronted with facts.

BAD NEWS OF THE WEEK: On May 30, 2008, a building crane collapsed in Manhattan, killing two people.

It is too bad our justice system lets so much time elapse until a trial takes place because too many people forget after all this time. The owner was accused of putting profit ahead of safety by hiring a cheaper Chinese company, which could also repair the crane faster.

A former employee of the company had pleaded guilty and testified at the trial. A judge, not a jury, heard the case. There is still a civil case continuing. Too often this miscarriage of justice takes place.

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By Kenneth Kowald

TimesLedger Newspapers

From my first day of school, when my mother brought me to the building on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, I had drilled into me by my parents that teachers were supreme. You did not question or show disrespect to them.

In my years in the city public school system and at college, I think I had only one teacher who might not have lived up to my parents’ standards and, in the long run, he was no problem. One of the teachers from my early days, Mrs. Maloney, was someone I remembered for many years. I cannot remember what she taught, but she made a great impression on me, as did others.

In the course of my business life, I worked with many teachers in New York City. I used to say, “I know only the best teachers” and that was true. The ones I worked with cared about their students, worked hard and long and tried to keep abreast of new trends.

One I especially remember was a biology teacher in a Queens high school. During her sabbatical, she took time to work with a student who went on to the national science fair.

I also knew a teacher who was transferred from one high school in Queens to another. Even the teachers union would not defend her, as she took an early retirement because she was just not a good teacher.

Unfortunately, not all doctors, lawyers, engineers or clerics are good at what they do. In some cases, as I learned as a public member of the state Board for Professional Conduct for many years, many of these “professionals” should not have been doing what they were doing in the first place or had kept at it too long.

This applies to teachers as well.

I am a believer in unions not just because it is in my DNA, but because I believe the working person needs protection against employers who may mistreat them. Money is not the root of all evil, but the love of money is. Too many employers cannot see beyond that love.

But should a teacher who should not be teaching because he or she is no good get tenure because they have been able to survive for a certain period of time? Must students be subjected to those who should not and cannot teach? Should teachers be subjected to students who do not respect themselves, others or the learning process?

I am not an educator, but I think I know a good teacher from a poor one. I think you who read this know this as well. Should someone get before a class of students day after day and not do the job for which they are getting paid? Can we, as a society, afford that kind of tolerance for incompetence?

That was never good and in the technological 21st century it is unacceptable.

I think the answer lies somewhere between those who hide behind their tenure and those who strive to help those they get paid to help. We cannot continue on this path to communal illiteracy.

More and more in the business world employees are judged annually by their superiors. These evaluations should be objective and I would hope most are. But we all know that subjectivity and personal animus can enter into such evaluations. Many readers will know this from personal experience.

That is not the kind of judgment we need about teachers, but we should have judgments on a regular basis. Just because teachers have been doing work for a certain period of time should not mean they get a pass if they are no longer up to the task of educating.

The United States lags behind in education on too many fronts. There are many things to blame for this, not least of all the fact that not enough parents these days give some kind of direction to their children or do not support a teacher in efforts at education. But while parents and students must do better, so must the teaching profession and those in charge of the educational process.

Yes, evaluate the teachers. Do it fairly, frequently and with one goal in mind: to help students learn.

And if a teacher has gotten to the point of not doing the job, let that person find another profession. The teaching profession cannot be immune to the way the world works because the world of education is not working well.

And that may be the understatement of the year.

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By The Greater Astoria Historical Society

TimesLedger Newspapers

Stateside, the war effort was beginning to ramp up. On May 5, 1942, the sixth minesweeper to be built in Whitestone in the past seven weeks slid into the East River. The boat was christened at the Wheeler Shipbuilding Corp.’s yard at the foot of 154th Street.

Officials at the Wheeler yard indicated that minesweeper production was gradually being stepped up and would soon maintain a pace of one a week. The company held the coveted Navy “E” pennant for efficiency in turning out the highly important minesweepers.

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On May 18, 1942, Queens underwent its first blackout. Only the Flushing and Astoria trains, as well as factories engaged in war production, were exempt. More than 35,000 air raid wardens in the borough took part in the blackout. All street lights and traffic lights were turned off and automobiles were stopped and required to turn off their lights.

Traffic was at a standstill for 20 minutes. A photograph from a roof at Steinway Street and 30th Avenue only showed lights at the distant Brewster Building, busy turning out Brewster aircraft for the war effort.

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Even though the U.S. Army had been ordered to take charge of the nation’s commercial airlines, LaGuardia Field “will not be taken over tomorrow afternoon, or next week,” Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia said as he arrived May 15, 1942.

He was returning from Washington, D.C., where he met President Franklin D. Roosevelt in a conference on “routine business.” LaGuardia Field, the busiest airport in the world, had been busier than ever in recent months as the travel of military personnel on official business increased steadily.

Although the Army was not expected to curtail civilian travel entirely, such travel was severely restricted. Civilians, unless it was “absolutely necessary,” were to take trains.

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A Star Journal reporter went around to 50 gas stations trying to get gas without a ration card. At each station, he got the same response: no card, no gas. And even if he had the card, in most of the stations there was no gas to be sold.

At one station, a half-dozen cars were parked around the tanks. The dealer said, “I expect a delivery of gas in 15 minutes. These drivers are regular customers and I told them to come at this time.”

In another station, a dealer refused to sell more than 3 gallons: “We haven’t enough gas to sell more.”

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The ranking naval hero of Queens, Lt. John Bulkeley, who “slapped” a Japanese cruiser down to Davey Jones’ locker with a torpedo from his PT boat, was introduced by LaGuardia to a crowd estimated to top a million for a May 17, 1942, event in Central Park.

Billed as the “I Am an American Day Rally,” the event was planned as a “reaffirmation of allegiance of the Constitution and all-out support for the nation’s war programs.”

Bulkeley also notched another spot in the hall of fame when he piloted the speeding PT boat, which spirited Gen. Douglas MacArthur from Bataan to Australia under the guns of the Japanese fleet.

Outstanding dignitaries included Gov. Herbert Lehman and U.S. Supreme Court Judge Hugo Black. Pvt. Joe Lewis, the boxing champion, and actor Paul Muni delivered brief remarks. More than 1,000 police officers were on hand to direct the crowd. Several hundred park employees and hundreds of additional special ushers and Boy Scouts assisted the police.

Famed African-American singer Marian Anderson, as well as Lily Pons, of the Metropolitan Opera, delivered musical selections. Music was furnished by mass bands of the Police, Fire, Parks and Sanitation departments. The evening ended with a singing of “God Bless America” by “the entire assemblage.”

It was led by Irving Berlin, the song’s composer.

For more information, call 718-278-0700 or visit astorialic.org.

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An estimated 32,000 cyclists rode in the TD Five Boro Bike last Sunday.

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The York College Foundation held its 5th Annual Scholarship Benefit Concert at York Monday night of last week. The event featured a performance by Patti Austin & Trio entitled, “The Ella Fitzgerald Tribute.”

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Under standards imposed during the Bloomberg administration, the city can boot or tow cars of owners who owe as little as $350 or have five unpaid parking tickets in the course of one year, even if the tickets have not gone to judgment.

The mayor says the tougher standards will “save lives.” Nonsense. The tickets accompanied by excessive fees will help balance a bloated budget. The policy was set by a man with a 24/7 chauffeur who has no idea what a car means to the average New York family.

With added fees, the cost to get a car back can double the amount owed. They include a $185 tow fee, $70 for the sheriff and $35 for the pound. The tow trucks take the cars to a nearby trailer. The fee is more than double the normal towing charge.

Two men can easily tow more than 50 cars in less than a day. With the added poundage fees the company makes $10,000 a day or more. The sheriffs can collect $3,500 or more for sitting in a car and watching the tow trucks.

The Council should stand up to the mayor on scofflaw towing. The standard should be reset to something reasonable like $1,000. The fees should be cut in half and the city comptroller should investigate how the towing contracts are awarded in each borough.

Under certain circumstances, government has the right to seize private property, but that power should be carefully used and monitored. Under the mayor, the scofflaw towing program has become abusive.

Troubled Dream Act

As of this writing, the Dream Act, a bill that would help undocumented immigrants obtain public funds to pay for college, is stalled in Albany. Even Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reluctant to take a stand.

This bill is made for the Tea Party activists opposed to spending taxpayer money on anything other than the deportation of immigrants.

In the end, the Dream Act controversy is a tempest in a teapot. It is estimated that the cost of giving these students access to funds will be less than $1 million a year.

The state Legislature should pass the Dream Act before the current session ends.

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At the moment it appears the only hope for stopping the city Department of Education from closing August Martin High School and 23 other schools is intervention by the courts.

The puppet city Panel for Educational Policy voted three weeks ago to close the schools. The panel, dominated by appointees of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, decided to spare two schools that had friends in high places.

The plan has been vigorously denounced by Council members, state senators and state Assembly members representing the districts where these schools are located. They are speaking for the people they represent who are angry about the closings.

Who is lame-duck Bloomberg speaking for? In essence, he is saying he knows better than the people who elected him. In fact, he does not understand what these schools mean to communities. His plan to close August Martin HS and reopen it with a new administration and name is costly and foolish.

The decision to make all the teachers in these schools resign and reapply for their positions is mean-spirited. The DOE is blaming teachers for its failure to fund and monitor these schools and control class sizes.

The millions spent on closing the schools would have been better spent fixing them.

We urge the elected officials who have denounced the mayor’s plan to not give up. Challenge the plan at City Hall. Challenge the plan in Albany. And, most importantly, challenge the plan in the courts.

If this city is still a democracy, the closings should not happen.

Troubled Dream Act

As of this writing, the Dream Act, a bill that would help undocumented immigrants obtain public funds to pay for college, is stalled in Albany. Even Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reluctant to take a stand.

This bill is made for the Tea Party activists opposed to spending taxpayer money on anything other than the deportation of immigrants.

In the end, the Dream Act controversy is a tempest in a teapot. It is estimated that the cost of giving these students access to funds will be less than $1 million a year.

The state Legislature should pass the Dream Act before the current session ends.

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It was with no pleasure that we watched last week as former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate pleaded guilty to misusing money to fund his unsuccessful 2006 campaign.

Monserrate’s downfall began when he was arrested for assaulting his girlfriend and slashing her face with a broken glass. He was convicted of misdemeanor assault in 2009 and sentenced to three years’ probation. Even though his victim refused to testify, surveillance tape caught him dragging the woman through a hallway.

He was then expelled from the Senate on a vote of 53-8.

Monserrate was later arrested for secretly funneling more than $100,000 to his campaign. According to U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the Latino Initiative for Better Resources and Empowerment paid $48,000 in salary to employees “for doing pretty much nothing else except working on [his] campaign.”

For a man who once served in the NYPD, neither crime is excusable. The misuse of funds was a criminal act for which he could spend many years in prison.

Monserrate had been a respected figure in the districts he served. He let constituents down. He will not be remembered for any accomplishment but for fraud and domestic abuse.

Punishment Should Fit Crime

Under standards imposed during the Bloomberg administration, the city can now boot or tow cars of owners who owe as little as $350 or have five unpaid parking tickets in the course of one year.

The mayor says the tougher standards will “save lives.” Nonsense. The tickets accompanied by excessive fees will help balance a bloated budget.

With added fees, the cost to get a car back can double the amount owed. They include a $185 tow fee, $70 for the sheriff and $35 for the pound. The fee is more than double the normal towing charge.

The City Council should stand up to the mayor on scofflaw towing. The standard should be reset to something reasonable like $1,000. The fees should be cut in half.

Time to bring the mayor back to planet Earth.

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The local press is awash with statements that the upcoming Democratic primary for the nomination in the 6th Congressional District is a short time for the candidates to get themselves known.

You can be sure that every enrolled Democrat — incorrectly referred to as registered Democrats because you register to vote but enroll in a party — will receive a hundred mailers, 37 robo calls, 17 introductions at transit stops and 106 handshakes during the short, get-to-know-you campaign.

When we add up the June 26 vote and the total cost by all the candidates of the money spent, plus the cost of Primary Day election inspectors, I am sure we will find that it cost more than $60 per vote for the short-time primary.

God bless America; pass me the aspirin.

Kenneth Lloyd Brown

Forest Hills

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Queens is in the midst of an incredible period of economic growth, with billions of dollars in proposed construction and thousands of new residents expected in the next 20 years. The borough is home to two airports and they are the lifeblood of our local business community.

The city, however, is pursuing plans for a new garbage dump in front of LaGuardia Airport’s primary runway that will create a bird magnet that will make passengers less safe and have wide-ranging effects on our local economy. The lessons from US Airways 1549, the Miracle on the Hudson, are still fresh in our minds.

This facility will also create an obstruction preventing the installation of new aviation technology, which would increase safety and capacity and reduce delays into LaGuardia. These delays add up and amount to tens of millions of dollars of lost revenue and untold amounts of aggravation.

While this technology is a potential solution to the problem, plans for its installation were scuttled when the city passed the Solid Waste Management Plan in 2006. That legislation paved the way for the construction of a new 10-story marine transfer station in College Point, standing in front LaGuardia’s Runway 31.

Thousands of passengers fly into and out of the borough every day and their contribution to the local economy is immeasurable — especially now when investment in the borough is expected to skyrocket. The transfer station, 735 yards from the end of Runway 31, if completed, will block airport planners from ever pursuing installation of this new technology and limit our ability to effectively handle more passenger traffic to accommodate future aviation growth.

My office, at the Queens Chamber of Commerce, is across the highway from LaGuardia Airport. The proposed garbage transfer station is closer than that.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s announcement of a $4 billion convention center financed entirely through the private sector is going to be a windfall for every industry in the area. A new convention and casino gaming center would draw countless people to the borough annually. Delta Airlines has also committed major resources by recently announcing 100 new flights and 29 new destinations from LaGuardia. The move will add up to 4 million new passenger seats without contributing to airport congestion. The expansion, Delta noted in a press release, will create 700 new jobs.

New York City is also projected to grow by 1 million people by 2030, and many of those people will end up living and working in Queens. We need reliable infrastructure now to accommodate the anticipated population growth. The North Shore garbage dump, however, will prevent not only the current precision approach technology from being used at Runway 31, but permanently prevent next-generation, satellite-based precision approach technologies.

We need first-rate roads, mass transit and airports to effectively get people from place to place. Can we expect 1950s technology to guide us smoothly into 2030s challenges?

Furthermore, the first-order costs of not installing this new approach technology are staggering. According to a study commissioned by the Friends of LaGuardia Airport, the commercial air carrier industry loses anywhere from $74 million to $183 million annually at the airport because of the lack of a precision approach. Approximately 500,000 to 1 million passengers are delayed every year as well.

Common sense tells you that siting a garbage station and known food source for birds so close to a runway greatly increases the risk of bird strikes at this location. The QCC has consistently voiced its opposition to the transfer station on safety grounds to the mayor’s office and federal government.

Good public policy supports the safety of people over the garbage plan. Politics should not prevail over common sense or doing the right thing.

We desperately need new infrastructure to handle the borough’s needs and the North Shore Marine Transfer Station will significantly impede the growth of jobs and airline traffic to move passengers in and out of local airports. It is not too late to stop this deadly idea from coming to fruition.

Support our airports. Support the use of modern technology and prevent another tragedy that the transfer station could potentially cause.

In the 1980s, Gov. Mario Cuomo shut the Shoreham Nuclear Power Plant down before it could start operation. We ask that his son take the bold step of intervening and study if this garbage dump, too, is wrong for New York City.

Jack Friedman

Executive Director

Queens Chamber of Commerce

Jackson Heights

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I fail to understand the brouhaha over the candidacy of Jeff Gottlieb in the 6th Congressional District, claiming it is a ploy to deprive candidate state Assemblyman Rory Lancman (D-Fresh Meadows) of the “Jewish vote” (“Lancman calls Gottlieb ‘hack’ in primary run,” Flushing Times, April 12-18).

The criteria for one seeking public office is intelligence, honesty and a commitment to seek and support legislation that serves the needs and the interests of all the people and not just the few with political and financial connections. Excluded are the person’s religion, those who wear religion on their sleeves and those who pander to a specific religious group and violate the constitutional requirement of separation of church and state by seeking legislation that infuses their religious beliefs.

A claim Jews will only vote for a Jewish candidate is demeaning and an insult to the Jews who support a candidate based upon his or her merits and not religious persuasion. I wish Lancman luck, but suggest he focus on important issues he will face and not on religion.

Gottlieb has spent decades toiling for the Queens Democratic Party without ever being nominated for elective office by the party bosses. The Queens Democratic Party leadership, far from being anywhere within the realm of a democracy, and I say this as a lifelong registered Democrat, is known together with boss politics in the boroughs as the nepotism capital.

Primaries are expensive and rare and the boss selection gets the nod. The nod is often the wife or son of an official retiring or seeking another office.

Gottlieb was never genealogically qualified as a member of the nepotism club. If he wishes to seek office, as does Lancman, they should be judged on their merits, not their religion.

Benjamin M. Haber

Flushing

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It is disappointing that City Councilmen David Greenfield (D-Brooklyn) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), in the April 19-25 story “Proposed bill blocks trash charge for culturals,” would prevent the city from charging so-called private nonprofit groups for paying for trash and recycling.

Before shedding any tears for private, nonprofit institutions when they protest having to pay for trash and recycling, check out their respective organization finances, especially salaries to their executive management teams.

Too many executives of nonprofits earn a base salary of $700,000. Some even earn more than $1 million per year. This is supplemented by bonuses, generous health plans, subsidized housing and retirement packages equivalent or greater than the president, governor, mayor, public officials, many private sector corporate executives and ordinary citizens combined.

In many cases, these institutions pay excessive funds to public relations firms and lobbyists hired to go after grants from the city, state and federal governments. Professional fund-raising firms end up taking a greater percentage of donations meant for the nonprofits. In many cases, the percentage is shocking.

In these lean times, executives of nonprofits can set an example for others. They could take a pay cut and donate some of the excessive compensation or consider giving up some of the perks to help their institutions’ bottom lines.

Why can’t the thousands of nonprofits collectively afford to pay the estimated $17 million cost for trash and recycling? In essence, they are recycling a small portion of the hundreds of millions they collectively receive in city, state and federal grant monies back to the public treasury.

Do Greenfield and Van Bramer have any conflicts of interest by accepting campaign contributions from employees of the same organizations who might benefit from their proposed legislation?

Larry Penner

Great Neck, L.I.

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By Rebecca Henely

TimesLedger Newspapers

Mayor Michael Bloomberg signed a bill into law last week that will expand the Library Card Act.

City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside), who introduced the act in 2010 to put library card applications from the city’s three systems into the city Department of Education’s enrollment packages, had introduced the extension Bloomberg made a law May 1.

Now Queens, New York and Brooklyn library cards will also be distributed through the city Department of Youth and Community Development, the city Administration for Children’s Services, the city Human Resources Administration and the city Department of Homeless Services.

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