Richards, Anderson Join Call to Support Small Businesses During COVID
City Councilmember and Queens Borough President-Elect Donovan Richards (D-Arverne, Brookville, Edgemere, Far Rockaway, Laurelton, Rosedale, Springfield Gardens), and State Assemblymember Khaleel Anderson (D-Arverne, Brookville, Far Rockaway, Hammels, Rosedale, South Ozone Park, South Richmond Hill, Springfield Gardens and John F. Kennedy International Airport) are joining the Western Queens Small Business Council, the BlaQue Resource Network, small business owners, and business advocates from throughout the borough on Thursday to lead a call to action to provide immediate small business financial relief during the second wave of COVID-19.
The press conference will be held on Thursday, November 19 at 11:30 a.m. at Pa Nash Eurosoul 144-14 243rd Street in Rosedale.
Moya Hosts Hearing on Flushing Waterfront Rezoning
Councilmember Francisco Moya, Chair of the Subcommittee on Zoning and Franchises (D-East Elmhurst, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, and Corona in Queens, including Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Lefrak City and LaGuardia Airport), and the rest of the committee are holding a hearing on the Flushing Waterfront Rezoning and other zoning applications in Brooklyn and Manhattan.
For more information, see the agenda for the hearing.
The virtual hearing will be on Wednesday, November 18 at 10 a.m. in Virtual Room 1.
Koo Holds Oversight Hearing on Historic Houses
City Councilmember Peter Koo, Chair of the Committee on Parks and Recreation (D-Downtown Flushing, Murray Hill, Queensboro Hill), and the rest of the committee will hold an oversight hearing on the state of historic houses under the jurisdiction of the Parks Department.
For more information, see the agenda.
The virtual hearing will be held on Wednesday, November 18 at 10 a.m. in Virtual Room 2.
Constantinides, Van Bramer Laud Proposed Sanitation Garage
City Councilmembers Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Woodside) and Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside, Woodside, Long Island City, Astoria, Dutch Kills) lauded a proposal to replace a New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) garage that was advanced by the Subcommittee on Landmarks, Public Sitings, and Dispositions on Tuesday for approval by the full City Council.
DSNY plans to replace its nearly 90-year-old garage at 34-28 21st Street, at 34th Avenue, with a new 93,775-square-foot facility within the Astoria Industrial Business Zone, located within Council District 22 at 19th Avenue and 37th Street. The agency also plans to build a new 20,000-square-foot salt shed within the business zone, replacing one at 43rd Avenue and Vernon Boulevard.
“The agreement we’ve made delivers major wins for the western Queens community,” said Constantinides. “This will improve traffic safety along 21st Street, clean the air for Queensbridge and Ravenswood Houses, and create truly affordable housing.”
For years, the city has noted that the current garage on 21st Street is too small and beyond repair. That’s forced the Sanitation Department to store trucks on the surrounding sidewalk in what’s a largely residential neighborhood. Residents of both the NYCHA Ravenswood Houses and Queensview and North Queensview co-ops have long complained of dangerous street conditions around the garage, as well as polluted air quality from a constant flow of trucks.
“The Ravenswood community fought long and hard for justice and won a hard earned commitment from the Mayor in 2017 to fund a new garage that is not directly next to thousands of public housing residents,” said Van Bramer.
Mayor Bill de Blasio committed $130 million in 2017 to build a new facility within the community district service by the current garage. Subcommittee members voted 5-0 Tuesday on the new Astoria building, which will be accessed by a local truck route along 19th Avenue. The project will advance the City’s ambitious clean energy goals by installing solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations.
Addabbo Hosts Successful E-Waste Recycling Event
State Senator Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. (D-Howard Beach, Ozone Park, Woodhaven, Glendale, Middle Village, Maspeth and parts of South Ozone Park, Ridgewood, Woodside and The Rockaways) joined Assemblymember Mike Miller (D-Woodhaven, Ridgewood, Richmond Hill, Ozone Park and Glendale) and Councilmember Robert Holden (D-Glendale, Maspeth, Middle Village, Ridgewood, Woodhaven, Woodside) on Sunday for an e-waste recycling event.
Over 400 cars came to Forest Park on Sunday for the e-waste recycling event to get rid of their electronic waste with the help of the Lower East Side Ecology Center.
Addabbo would like to thank Miller, Holden, all the staff, the 104COP for helping mitigate the traffic, as well as the Lower East Side Ecology Center crew for their amazing work in bringing this service to the community.
DA Katz Names Veteran Prosecutor to Run New Frauds Bureau
District Attorney Melinda Katz on Tuesday announced that veteran prosecutor Joseph T. Conley III has been named to head the Frauds Bureau of the Queens District Attorney’s Office, which was created earlier this fall.
“Joseph Conley’s distinguished career in law enforcement, including 16 years with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, made it easy for me to choose him to lead this new bureau. The Frauds Bureau’s goal is to focus on catching criminals who prey on the vulnerable, line their pockets with tax revenue collected on behalf of the City and State and anyone else who uses complicated financial schemes to victimize the innocent,” said Katz.
Prior to his tenure with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Conley was the Deputy Attorney-in-Charge of the Manhattan Special Investigations Unit for the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Chief Conley serves as a Lieutenant Colonel in the New York Army National Guard serving in the Judge Advocate General’s Corp. and is currently assigned to the 69th Infantry Battalion.
The Frauds Bureau investigates and prosecutes a wide variety of complex financial crimes affecting Queens residents and businesses. The bureau’s cases range from investigating organized criminal groups defrauding corporate businesses to trusted employees stealing from smaller family businesses to those exploiting the elderly for financial gain. Prosecutors in the Frauds Bureau are specially trained to aid residents of Queens who are victims of embezzlement, organized theft schemes, pattern commercial burglaries, confidence schemes, trademark counterfeiting, financial and investment scams, cybercrimes and environmental crimes. Frauds Bureau prosecutors also regularly engage in public speaking events to educate the public on how to avoid being victimized by trending fraud schemes.
The Frauds Bureau contains three specialized units –– the Elder Fraud Unit, Computer Crimes Unit, and Crimes Against Revenue Unit (CARU) –– that partner with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to proactively spot developing patterns and identify criminals who target Queens residents.
At times, the Frauds Bureau partners with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to make those victimized by crooks whole again.
