Author: metanet

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

Up to 770 Far Rockaway public school students learned timely lessons on choosing paths leading them away from gun violence through tennis lessons at Flushing Meadows Corona Park last week.

Hosted by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and the United States Tennis Association last Friday, the “Say Yes to Tennis – No to Violence” event is in its 21st year and saw students from eight schools across the borough learn about the sport at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, the largest in the nation.

“For over two decades, our challenge and goal has been to provide the youth of Far Rockaway with a positive alternative to the deadly culture of gun violence, which permeates their lives on an almost daily basis,” Brown said. “Our message is a simple one: to teach them that tennis, aside from being a great sport, can teach them important lessons for the game of life. Learning now the principles of fair play and self-control on a tennis court may very well keep them from later on becoming one of life’s casualties in a court of law.”

Brown said the event helps to foster a healthy self-image in youth while teaching them integrity through the sport, which draws thousands to Queens on a yearly basis for the US Open and other tournaments.

“My fervent hope is that they have benefitted from the experience and that the life lessons they have learned – such as fair play and self-esteem – will have a positive effect on their daily lives,” Brown concluded.

The event at the USTA National Tennis Center is part of the year-round STAR Track anti-violence program from the DA in which staff from Brown’s office, as well as the New York City Corporation Counsel’s Office and the Legal Aid Society, visit schools to discuss the harmful effects of gun violence, drugs and gangs to discourage youth from engaging in crime.

Students at the event were from Public Schools 43, 104, 106, 197 and 333, Village Academy, Queens High School for Information Research and Technology and the Academy of Medical Technology, Middle and High School

The USTA, a non-profit with over 700,000 members, organizes the US Open in Flushing Meadows Corona Park every year in September and it is one of the largest annually attended sporting events in the world, according to the DA’s office.

Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

The borough will be getting its second medical marijuana facility in early summer.

Curaleaf New York announced plans to open a location near Austin Street in Forest Hills that will serve patients in Queens and surrounding boroughs suffering from chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer and other conditions permitted under the state Department of Health’s medical marijuana program.

Cannabis-based products became legal under the state’s Compassionate Care Act, which was signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014. Distribution of the medication is conducted according to a very strict protocol under the auspices of the state Board of Health.

Vireo Health of New York opened the Queens Patient Center near the Queens Center Mall in Elmhurst in January 2016. The Curaleaf New York dispensary will occupy a 3,000-square-foot ground floor space at 107-18 70th Road.

The site is centrally located between Queens Boulevard and Austin Street, and it was selected for its proximity to public transportation. It is directly off the Long Island Rail Road’s Forest Hills station and the Forest Hills-71st Avenue stop for the E, F, M, and R subway lines and the Q23 bus.

“After successful openings in Newburgh and Plattsburgh, we are thrilled to continue the expansion of New York’s medical marijuana program with our new dispensary in Queens,” said Michelle Bodner, president of PalliaTech NY, which operates the dispensaries under the brand name Curaleaf New York. “Our focus is on ensuring patients facing serious medical issues have access to these important treatments, and we look forward to opening our doors and helping those in need.”

The dispensary will be managed by a New York licensed pharmacist, and counselors will be on-site to help patients find the best treatments for their illnesses. Curaleaf New York offers medical cannabis products that are formulated to pharmaceutical standards and available in a variety of forms, including capsules, tablets, tinctures, oils and under-the-tongue strips. Curaleaf New York is also seeking approval to expand its offerings to include ground flower, transdermal patches and other new products.

PalliaTech NY LLC is based in New York City and is a subsidiary of PalliaTech Inc. The company has one of the largest medical marijuana operations in the country and holds licenses in 10 states operating under the Curaleaf brand name. For more information on Curaleaf NY, visit ny.curaleaf.com

Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparry@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4538.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Borough President Melinda Katz honored three war veterans from different eras at the Veterans Memorial Garden at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens last Friday.

Before the observance was underway, Katz said it was vital that today’s youth understand the importance of the armed forces and what they represent.

“These services — the parades that we do this weekend — it is more than coming out and having fun and seeing our community,” said Katz. “I do think it is important that our young people know the history of our wars, and understand the losses that have been sacrificed in order to get where we are today.”

Color guards for the ceremony included members from the junior reserve officers’ training corps at Francis Lewis High School under the command of Sgt. Major Charles Cabrera.

Kicking off the Pledge of Allegiance was U.S. Army Specialist David Kablan and singing the National Anthem was Whole Health Coordinator Tanya Thomas of the city Department of Veterans Services.

The first veteran to be honored was Sgt. Ellen T. Mendonca, a radio relay equipment repairwoman in the Air Force during the Cold War era from 1974 to 1978.

“I would not be the third woman borough president of Queens if it were not for women that came before me like you,” Katz said.

After retiring from the military as a technician in the navigational communications office for the 1901st Squad at Travis Airfield Base in California, Mendonca went to Maine, where she had a daughter and a son.

“The G.I. Bill really helped me a lot,” said Mendonca. “That money is really for you to survive and it really did help.”

After getting a divorce, Mendonca became a single mom and pursued her education, earning a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies at Brooklyn College and a master’s in Elementary Education at Queens College.

Mendonca was a part of the Friends of Seaside Library at Belle Harbor. She has lived at Rockaway Community Park for nearly 26 years and her son will soon retire as a Master Sergeant from the Air Force after 22 years of service.

The second veteran honored at the observance was Sgt. Willie Burks, a Jamaica native and a soldier of the United States Army in 1968 for the Vietnam War. Burks was wounded the year he served, but was awarded the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star for his acts of bravery and valor, according to Katz.

After being shot down in a helicopter during the Vietnam War, Burks became a 911 operator and for the past 20 years he has overseen a PTSD group in Queens to help soldiers, despite having moved to Rockville Center, L.I.

Burks has been married for 53 years, he has a son and daughter, a grandson who is a semi-pro tennis player, and a granddaughter who is in medical school. He is looking forward to his 54th wedding anniversary June 3.

“It is indeed an honor to receive such an award,” Burks said. “I hope all our veterans will be home soon and Happy Memorial Day.”

The last honoree was Sgt. Kaz Yamaguchi, a linguist during World War II who is a first-generation Japanese-American born in Long Island City and raised in Ozone Park.

“Mr. Yamaguchi served in the Pacific, in the Philippines and Japan as part of the Military Intelligence Service,” said Katz. “His assignments with MIS included conducting debriefings with prisoners.”

As a Japanese-American soldier during the 1940s, Yamaguchi often found himself part of two worlds, especially after Japan’s surprise military strike on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

“Many times I was between a rock and a hard place,” Yamaguchi said.

Yamaguchi, despite his internal conflict, was committed to his job and even helped to prevent at rebellion in Japan.

While at the American Ambassador Building in Japan, General Douglas MacArthur’s wife, Henrietta Cromwell, wanted to have extended water supply for the building, but Yamaguchi learned that the villagers near the embassy depended on the water for their farms. The sergeant communicated the villagers’ concerns to other soldiers and a water tank was built at the embassy as an alternative.

After he left the military, he worked at his grandfather’s ornamental horticulture business, and he has retired to New Jersey in order to spend time with his grandchildren who live there. He also volunteers at the Northport VA Medical Center.

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Little Neck-Douglaston Memorial Day Parade drew thousands of attendees Monday who lined the sidewalks along a 1.5-mile stretch of Northern Boulevard from Jayson Avenue to 245th Street on the 91st anniversary of the procession.

Veterans, military vehicles and cars from past and present were represented in the march, which also included Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Queens Borough President Melinda Katz, Public Advocate Letitia James, City Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens), U.S. Rep. Thomas Suozzi (D-Little Neck) and more.

WABC7 estimated that there was a crowd of 100,000 onlookers.

Many of onlookers during the march waved the American flag or wore red, white and blue, and some of the servicemen in the crowd wore black hats that listed the war they fought in, including Sgt. Mike Stern, a Vietnam War veteran.

Stern was a machine gunner from 1969 to 1970 and served with thousands of members of the 1st Calvary in a helicopter assault team, later going on to serve as a drill sergeant for six years at Fort Dix.

Stern grew up in Hollis and was drafted to serve at 19 years old. He currently lives in Bayside, which he has called home for the past 20 years.

“I’m here for all the guys that I saw that died over there,” Stern said. “I saw a lot of people die or get seriously injured. That is what today is about — the dead soldiers.”

While this was not the first time that Stern attended this parade, it was the first time for sisters Gabrielle Fardella and Christina Roth.

“I’ve never seen a Memorial Day Parade, so it’s my first time,” said Fardella, who drove from Plainview, L.I. “My sister lived nearby [the parade] and the kids are enjoying it…and she said it is one of the biggest [parades] in the nation.”

Fardella brought her husband and her three kids to the parade.

“It is an important day to remember people who died for this country and helped to keep it what it is today,” said Fardella.

Roth, a resident of Douglaston for five years, came to the event with her two daughters because she thought they were finally old enough to bring to the event.

“I wanted the kids to see a parade and I thought it was important to support everyone walking in the parade,” said Roth.

One of the retired servicemen in the parade was PFC Sterling “Sax” Bailey, a Vietnam War veteran who served from 1967 to 1969. He is a saxophonist from Port Jefferson.

“I remember the helicopters, the friends that I lost and the police corps,” said Bailey, who was a point man and led his troops in the 4th Infantry Division with his M60 machine gun.

The jazz saxophonist was happy to be a part of the parade.

“They asked me to play in the parade,” said Bailey. “I had to learn all the armed forces songs and memorize them.”

Bailey learned to play the songs for the Marines, the Navy, the Army, the Marine Corps and the Coast Guard in a week.

“The 4th Division… I will never forget them,” said Bailey.

Reach reporter Naeisha Rose by e-mail at nrose@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4573.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Ridgewood man has been charged with sex trafficking by Queens District Attorney Richard Brown for allegedly pimping out two underage girls, 13 and 15, in late 2017.

Eddy Florence, 33, was arraigned before Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr. May 23 after cops conducted a search warrant of the man’s 70th Avenue home in December 2017 and found the defendant in bed with the 13-year-old victim, Brown said.

“The defendant in this case is accused of profiting from prostitution by forcing two teenage girls into having sex dates with men for cash,” Brown said. “Once again, I want to emphasize that prostitution is not a victimless crime and that sex trafficking is an incessant act of brutality and degradation that scars its victims for life. The defendant now faces a lengthy term of incarceration for his alleged actions.”

The 43-count indictment included charges beyond sex trafficking. Florence is also to answer to allegations of kidnapping, promoting prostitution, criminal sexual act endangering the welfare of a child, possession of a forged instrument for the credit car embossing machine found in the residence and possession of heroin, among other charges.

Brown said Florence faces up to 50 years if the charges stick.

The 13-year-old victim met Florence in November 2017 when she was living in a group home, according to the DA, who said the child soon began living with Florence and performed sex acts for the defendant.

The defendant was allegedly found naked from the waist down with the younger victim at the time police executed a court-authorized search warrant.

Florence allegedly coerced the two victims into meeting with strangers who responded to ads posted to backpage.com in order to have sexual intercourse in exchange for money, the DA said.

All the money was handed over to Florence, who threatened the 13-year-old if enough money was not made, according to the DA.

Florence is being held without bail and will return to court Aug. 21.

Reach reporter Mark Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4564.

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Source: Times Ledger

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TimesLedger Newspapers

The end to the Mets’ miserable May could not come fast enough as the team continues to fall apart.

After a red-hot 11-1 start, the Mets have struggled to stay above .500 and have seen some of their most important players hit the disabled list due to injuries. After the team talked up a new training staff all offseason, little has changed for the Mets, who continue to be plagued with devastating injuries.

The team’s offense has struggled with star outfielder Yoenis Cespedes on the DL — though they struggled before he hit the disabled list, too. His absence creates a huge hole in the lineup that forced the Mets to turn to a washed up power bat in Jose Bautista to fill the void.

The club has lost third baseman Todd Frazier, center fielder Juan Lagares, starting catcher Travis d’Arnaud, infielder Wilmer Flores to the DL, too. The Mets boast one of the worst offenses in the league — statistically speaking — which has put extra pressure on their pitching staff, who have also taken a hit in recent days.

Ace Noah Syndergaard was placed on the 10-day disabled list — retroactive to May 26 — with a strained index finger on his pitching hand. He will wear a splint on his finger to keep it immobilized. Then, to make matters worse, Steven Matz was pulled from Tuesday night’s start when he was warming up in the fourth inning. The training staff was summoned to the mound and determined Matz needed to leave the game due to some discomfort in the middle finger of his pitching hand.

X-rays were negative, but Matz was in a splint after the game and was set to receive an MRI scan Wednesday. There was no word on how long Matz will be out or if he’ll need to join Syndergaard on the DL.

So with Matz and Synergaard sidelined, the Mets only healthy starters are Jacob deGrom, Jason Vargas and Zack Wheeler. Reliever Seth Lugo will jump into the rotation — he was scheduled to pitch Thursday — in a move that will further deplete the team’s bullpen.

Relievers AJ Ramos and Anthony Swarzak are on the disabled list, while mainstays Jerry Blevins and Jeurys Familia have been mostly ineffective on the mound.

Lugo had been providing a reliable middle relief option, but should he stay in the rotation, the Mets will need to find another way to shore up their bullpen situation.

Yes, it’s only June, but the Mets are clearly trending in the wrong direction. If things don’t turn around soon, it could lead to another season without postseason baseball at Citi Field.

Reach reporter Zach Gewelb by e-mail at zgewelb@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4539.

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Source: Times Ledger