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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Centers Health Care, a rehabilitation and nursing home company with branches across the Northeast does not stereotypically host Bingo nights and leave their elderly residents to watch television throughout the day. Instead its recreational staff plans visits with mini-horses, dance events, Cinco de Mayo celebrations and birthday parties for its centenarians, according to spokesman Jeffrey Jacomowitz.

To mark the 101st birthday of nursing home resident Marcelle Legrand June 6, the staff and patients at the Holliswood branch of Centers, located at 195-22 Woodhull Ave. in Hollis, came out to help her commemorate the special occasion.

In attendance was her son George Legrand, 73, an engineer who lives in Rockland County.

“I am elated,” said Legrand. “I hope I inherited her genes.”

The elder Legrand was born in the bay city of Gonaïves, Haiti, in 1917, according to Latricia Charles, a recreation aide who speaks Creole.

Legrand was the oldest of three siblings and was the matriarch of her family, according to her son and half-brother Jean Robert, 60.

Robert’s mother passed away when he was young and it was Legrand who took care of him, according the Elmont resident.

“She’s not only my sister, but for me she was also my mother,” said Robert. “She is a good person and she has a good heart…she was the head of the family…and she was in charge.”

In Haiti, Legrand was a primary school teacher of children ranging from 7 to 9, according to her son. After having three kids, she decided to work as a seamstress and make custom dresses from home in order to spend more time with them.

Later she married Wilford Delsoin, a broker, but due to political persecution he faced from the regime of former Haitian President François “Papa Doc” Duvalier, the couple left their home country in 1966.

“When she left, she went to Chicago,” said Robert.

Delsoin became a manager at a belt factory and because of Legrand’s limited understanding of English she worked at a factory for Tootsie Rolls, the chocolate taffy-like candy company, according to her son.

In 1976, Legrand and her husband moved back to Haiti because of health issues, but once she learned that they both needed a quadruple bypass as a result of heart problems they went to Florida in 1978, according to her son.

While in Florida she had the surgery to clear her arteries, but her husband, who was in his early 80s did not and he died in the early 1980s.

In 2001, she moved to Hollis and lived with her niece, Marie Legrand, but the following year came with bad news: her sister Francia Legrand, a reseller of wholesale goods, died at 75, according to her son.

Despite the losses she faced, Legrand still enjoys life and at her birthday she smiled and bopped her head to Tropicana, the popular music of her home country in the 1950s.

“She was devoted to everyone, not just her son and daughter,” said Robert. “She put herself out there for everybody.”

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

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Queens District Attorney Richard Brown announced Monday that Albert Premnauth, 24, was convicted after a week-long trial of rape, criminal sexual act and endangering the welfare of a child at his home in Richmond Hill in February 2016.

The victim, a 14-year-old girl at the time, became entangled with Premnauth after she jokingly posted a nude video of herself on Snapchat to another 14-year-old girl in early 2016, according to the district attorney’s office.

The friend of the victim shared the video with Jacob Marcial, 18, of Kew Gardens, according to the district attorney’s office.

“This case tragically demonstrates how dangerous it is for teenagers to take explicit images or videos of themselves and then to send them to others — even those they consider to be their friends,” said Brown. “The video then ended up in the hands of the 18-year-old male friend, who threatened to post it online if the victim did not have sex with the defendant to pay off his debt.”

Marcial, who was in debt to Premnauth, his alleged marijuana dealer, threatened to use the video to force the 14-year-old victim to have sex with the defendant in order to clear his payment, according to Brown.

Marcial, who pleaded guilty to sex trafficking the victim on Sept. 14, had arranged for the 14-year-old girl to have sex with the defendant, but after reaching Premnauth’s home she told him her age and begged him to give her time to pay off the debt in another way, according to the case presented by the district attorney’s office.

Premnauth refused the victim’s offer and forced her to have sex with him on Feb. 20, 2016, and gave her $100 in cash and a Beats by Dre headphones, which Marcial was to sell and use to pay back the defendant.

After a weeklong jury trial that concluded last Friday, Premnauth was convicted of rape and other charges and faces up to seven years in prison at his sentencing, which was scheduled for July 18 by Acting Supreme Court Justice Peter Vallone Jr., the judge who presided over the case.

Upon Premnauth release from jail he will have to register as a sex offender.

“The defendant, despite the victim’s tears and literally begging not to be raped, was violated by the defendant. A jury weighed all the evidence presented at trial and found the defendant guilty. He will now face serious prison time for his actions,” Brown said.

Marcial was scheduled to be sentenced on July 31 and faces up to 25 years in prison.

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

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By Tammy Scileppi

TimesLedger Newspapers

Seems as if Lady Justice was off duty for a while when a surprising number of innocent people got death sentences for crimes they didn’t commit over the past few decades.

While some have been exonerated, thanks to saving graces, like last-minute pardons, or after DNA evidence proved they weren’t involved in those crimes – sometimes after serving 20-plus years in prison – others weren’t so lucky.

An unsettling, hard-hitting documentary play, which just completed its successful ten-show run at Long Island City’s Secret Theatre, “The Exonerated,” which ran for 10 performances from May 31 to June 9 at the Secret Theatre, located at 44-02 23rd St. in Long Island City, recounted the riveting stories of six former death row inmates (played by rising local actors) using their own words, from court transcripts, interviews and letters.

Though these five men and one woman were convicted and sentenced to death for crimes they did not commit, some were nowhere near the scenes of the crimes, while others were connected to the victims by the thinnest of threads. There were also those who claimed they were pressured to falsely admit guilt during grueling police interviews.

Between them, these folks spent over one hundred years on death row before the criminal justice system finally corrected its mistakes and exonerated them, a fact that should scare every ordinary citizen.

The setting of the play was devoid of props, save for six chairs lined up against a stark backdrop: the disturbing image of a vintage electric chair screened on a wall opposite the actors – who would alternately sit facing it or get up to tell mind-boggling tales – the play exposed shocking police and prosecutorial misconduct in each case, which led to the conviction of innocent people.

Issues of race, law enforcement and the death penalty were brought to the fore, but there were occasional moments of humor to lighten things up.

For the play’s intro, you could hear a recording of death row inmates’ names read aloud, over and over, while later on, bursts of violence and a few gunshots enhanced the reality factor.

Featuring an exceptionally strong cast led by director DeMone Seraphin, “The Exonerated” seemed to possess an unmistakable power, one which pulled at your social justice heartstrings while shedding light on a series of serious miscarriages of justice.

If you’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s 1956 film “The Wrong Man,” you can understand the devastating effect being wrongly accused of a crime you didn’t commit, can have on the accused and their families.

That’s what Sunny Jacobs, a mother of two, must have felt when she found herself behind bars.

“So, I’ll just give you a moment to reflect,” she saidof her unbearable time in prison. “From 1976 to 1992, just remove that entire chunk from your life, and that’s what happened.”

Perhaps it was her unwavering belief that she would be released (despite the execution of her husband, who was also innocent, for the same crime) that kept her from losing all hope and her sanity.

The audience sat silently, listening to the words of those who emerged from death row… definitely not unscathed, but somehow at peace now that their painful journey was over.

How do you keep the faith in the bleakest of situations when all seems lost? When freedom is stripped away along with your self-respect?

“The wrongful imprisonment and promise of execution of the innocent is a cancer on our culture and our justice system that is very often steeped in racism, classism, and greed,” said Seraphin. “By lifting our voices, sharing our gifts, and telling these stories, it is my hope to add to the fire that demands the reformation of a fractured system and reparations to the countless lives and families that have been devastated by the practice. We gather not just to do a play, but to be the conduits of social justice and liberation.”

Created by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, the play was first performed in Los Angeles in April 2002, and was directed by the playwrights. It premiered in New York City in October of that year, at 45 Bleecker Theater, and was first published in 2004.

While crying out for social justice and prison reform, Delbert Tibbs, a black radical and poet from Chicago, spoke of his death row experience with anger and bitterness.

Then there was Texan Kerry Max Cook, a man whom “Texas killed a thousand times, and just keeps on doing it” — in his nightmares — was convicted of murdering a young woman even though she was found with another man’s hair grasped in her fist.

“I finally volunteered to give what they call a ‘vision statement’ — a hypothetical account of what I would have done if I had killed my parents,” recalled former inmate Gary Gauger, who was told during 12 hours of nonstop questioning by police that it could help jog memories of where he was on the day of the murders.

Exhausted, Gauger agreed to give the statement, all the while denying his involvement. That version was then used by the police as his confession. Two other men were found guilty of the crime, years later.

That scenario should sound familiar to true crime devotees.

“I produced this play because it features incredible stories — well told — with incredible actors,” said Richard Mazda, Secret Theatre’s founder and artistic director. “I feel that this is a most relevant play because we still have a justice system that is skewed and distorted. In an era when police brutality has brought about new movements like Black Lives Matter, this play shows us the dehumanizing process that can begin with a wrongful arrest and can lead to a horrendous miscarriage of justice.”

Okay, so you may have guessed that this intense theatrical work wasn’t your feel-good, laugh a minute comedy or fluffy musical. Sometimes, it’s important to switch things up and take in something that’s thought-proving, which leaves a lasting impression on your soul.

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

A law to require the establishment of full-service animal shelters in each borough passed the City Council unanimously June 7 to lighten the burden on “receiving centers” in other parts of the city and provide better care to animals taken into the system.

City Councilman Paul Vallone (D-Bayside) introduced the legislation five years ago and since then has acquired city funding for land and facilities to back up the law.

“Throughout the last four years, Speaker [Corey] Johnson and I have fought to make full-service animal shelters a reality for Queens and the Bronx. Only one option is acceptable for this city and the residents of Queens and the Bronx — a fully functional animal shelter with adoption, veterinary and educational services,” Vallone said. “Having animal shelters in every borough reflects our belief that all animals should be protected and given the opportunity to find a home. After almost three decades, five administrations and an uncertain future, we could not afford to wait one more day.”

The new law will take full effect in 2024 and restores an old requirement that expired in 2011, after Local Law 59 passed, which relieved the city of its obligation to create and maintain shelters in Queens and the Bronx in exchange for funding of non-government shelters.

Receiving centers only take in lost animals and strays, providing some care before moving them to another facility, usually in Brooklyn.

Vallone said in a release that his office has lined up $10 million in capital funds for land acquisition and design for two new facilities in the Bronx and Queens.

Earlier this year, the de Blasio administration announced it would move forward with building a shelter in the Bronx and in April, the city said it would be moving the Queens receiving center to a larger facility.

“This legislation is vital when you consider that the key to saving lives is not just housing homeless animals, but more importantly, re-homing them. Even though the combined populations of Queens and the Bronx—nearly 3.6 million people—is more than that of every American city except Los Angeles and New York City itself, their animal receiving centers in no way serve the goal of adoption,” Michelle Villagomez, senior legislative director of the ASPCA, said. “When you put this bill together with the Council’s commitment to fund the plan to build state-of-the-art animal shelters in the Bronx and in Queens, you can clearly see a city rising above — and leading — when it comes to animal compassion and welfare.”

In May 2016, projections released by Vallone and City Councilman Barry Grodenchik (D-Oakland Gardens), as well as former NYCLASS Executive Director Allie Taylor, showed that New York City pet adoptions could more than double from installing new animal shelters. That same year adoptions from city shelters numbered 7,158 and was estimated to reach 16,000 by 2018.

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

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Jeffrey Schiff, the former inspector of the 105th Precinct in Queens Village, may be gone, but the leaders of the southeast Queens communities he served will certainly not forget him. On June 27, 13 different civic organizations will honor him at his previous police station.

“I have been going to the 105th Community Council meetings for more than a decade and I have been involved with many commanding officers, and we’ve had some really good ones,” said President Bob Friedrich of the Glen Oaks Village Co-op, “but by far the best is Schiff.”

Schiff announced May 25 that he was transferred to the Counterterrorism Division in Brooklyn and that he would start his tenure there May 29, Civic leaders will honor him at the 105th Precinct, which is located at 92-08 222nd St. at 7 p.m..

Over the course of 22 years Schiff, 51, has served at eight police precincts and has helped to shake up the NYPD in some unconventional ways.

He was born in Brooklyn within the 76th Precinct and raised in Bellerose within the 105th.

Growing up, he did not dream of becoming a police officer. Instead he wanted to join the military like his relatives once he finished his engineering degree from Polytechnic University. His grandfather served in World War II in Italy, his father, uncle and cousin served during the Vietnam War, and two aunts and two uncles joined the Air Force during the 1970s to 1980s.

He received his degree January 1991 and he was ready to enlist with the Navy or the Air Force during the Cold War (1947-1991) and Gulf War (1990 –1991), but a thawing of relations between Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev and President George H.W. Bush led to both presidents working together to bring about a ceasefire in Iraq for the latter conflict.

“Gorbachev made peace with America, so they cut all the defense budgets and they weren’t accepting any more recruits into the Air Force or the Navy,” said Schiff.

Schiff decided to then follow in the footsteps of his aunt, P.O. Jeanette Torres (107th Precinct), and uncle, Sgt. Emilio Torres (108th Precinct), by signing up for the NYPD, all the while working different jobs to make ends meet during a recession (1990-1992) and into the mid-1990s.

He worked in plumbing, for a photo company, an insurance company, as a statistician, an electrical engineer and for the Archdiocese under the Archbishop of New York Cardinal John O’Connor before he got the call to join the NYPD.

“I got the call on July 17, 1996 at 9:30 p.m.,” said Schiff.

On July 18 he went to Queens College in Flushing for an orientation and would go throughout the city to be trained as a police officer for eight months. He graduated in March 1997 and earned a third place award for the academic portion of his police academy class, which consisted of 1,492 cadets. This distinction allowed him to choose his first precinct.

“I wanted to be back in Queens, so I chose the 103rd Precinct,” he recalled.

He worked as a police officer in Jamaica until July 2001 and transferred to the 108th Precinct in Long Island City as a sergeant. Two months after he started at his new department he clocked in 14-hour days after the attack on the World Trade Center (Sept. 11, 2001) and became a lieutenant within three years instead of the usual five.

He was a lieutenant from June 2004 to July 2007 at the 1st Precinct at Ground Zero in Manhattan, and became a captain at the 76th Precinct in Battery Park from July 2007 to April 2008. He continued his career as an executive officer by serving as a captain at the 68th Precinct at Sunset Park until October 2008 and 67th Precinct until 2012.

Schiff made waves once he returned to the 76th Precinct in May 2012 after he learned how to use Twitter and Facebook and became the first commanding officer to use the social media platforms to post information on parolees.

“A reporter from DNAinfo caught on… and then the Legal Aid Society was not happy about what I was doing,” said Schiff. “In my defense these were parolees… not with one or two arrests, but 50.”

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly asked him to quit posting on the platforms until a guideline was created, and in 2013 he was vindicated when two parolees he reported on were arrested weeks apart upon leaving prison, according to the inspector.

In 2013, Schiff started his own campaign within the 76th Precinct after several thefts occurred in Carroll Gardens. He sent officers to the neighborhood to take notes on where they spotted unsecured expensive items that were easy to see.

“The Spot It To Secure It campaign started when I noticed that people were leaving expensive items out on their car seats that you can see from the window,” said Schiff. “I would tell officers to take a picture of the items and run the license plate so we could inform the owner about thefts in the area. That drove the thefts down 50 percent.”

After his social media vindication and his campaign, which was picked up by the Boston and Nassau County police departments, Schiff was promoted to deputy inspector. In 2014, Commissioner William Bratton allowed commanding officers of the NYPD to use Twitter and Facebook to post information on suspects, parolees, community council meetings and more.

“I actually changed the culture,” said Schiff. “The use of social media is not going away anytime soon… and this is a part of my legacy.”

Schiff was transferred to work as the deputy inspector of the 106th Precinct in Ozone Park in September 2013 to bring down crime, which rose slightly with the opening of Resorts World Casino in South Ozone Park in 2011, and after successfully helping crime drop by 30 percent by February 2016, he was sent to the 105th Precinct.

“The 105th Precinct is the crown jewel of Queens and is the fifth-largest precinct in the city,” said Schiff.

After engaging with the civic organizations within the 105th Precinct to help bring down crime, he was promoted to inspector on June 26, 2016.

“Every month Schiff did a power point presentation and broke down the statistics and broke down the comp stat numbers, and he puts pictures up there so we know who the parolees were,” said Friedrich.

Community Board 13 Chairman Clive Williams is also fond of Schiff.

“He brought a civility to the 105,” said Williams. “He believed in technology and kept people in the loop by text, email, Facebook and Twitter. We in the community felt like we were partners with the precinct.”

Schiff is proud of his new position as the inspector of the Counterrorism Division.

“I feel honored and validated knowing that my bosses have the confidence and the belief in me to help out with the cause of making the city safe,” said Schiff.

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

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By Merle Exit

TimesLedger Newspapers

Paul Raimonda Playground in Astoria served as an ideal location to host Sing for Hope’s seventh annual event, as the park had recently undergone renovations to include a spray shower in the shape of a baby grand piano dedicated to the Steinway and Sons factory located a few blocks away.

As of June 4, 51 artistically painted pianos have popped up across New York City. Of those 51, 11 are located in parks, public spaces and other high traffic outdoor locations of Queens and are available to anyone interested in tickling the ivories through June 24.

After the event, the pianos will get permanent homes in 50 public schools. These brightly colored and patterned pianos were painted by artists from around the world, each instrument featuring its own message.

Broadway shows took part this year with the casts from “Kinky Boots,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Wicked” and “The Play That Goes Wrong,” each painting a piano. Paul Raimonda Playground was the recipient of the “The Play That Goes Wrong,” along with the message that just because everything’s going wrong doesn’t mean something beautiful can’t come from it.

For the first time ever, Sing for Hope has teamed up with MINI USA for #DrivingHope, a partnership motivated by their shared passion for bringing creativity to communities. MINI USA is the title sponsor of the Sing for Hope pianos. They have created a one-of-a-kind piano on wheels called the #MINIPiano. This 51st piano has a specially designed and modified MINI Countryman that has been outfitted with a keyboard, sound system, and brightly colored exterior.

“MINI is pleased to partner with Sing for Hope in its important mission, bringing even more music, more art, more spontaneous moments of community to every corner of NYC with our unique mobile #MINIPiano,” said Lee Nadler, the regional marketing manager for MINI USA. “MINI wants to leverage its creativity to enhance city life, and we are excited to amplify the great work that Sing for Hope is doing by expanding the reach of music throughout the five boroughs via the #MINIPiano.”

Those interested in stopping by can schedule time at any one of the pianos in New York City and perhaps bring other instruments, or even singers, to accompany them.

Paul Raimonda Playground is located at 20th Avenue between 47th Street and 48th Street and is open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Other locations that will house pianos include: Astoria Park (located at 21st Street near the tennis courts; open every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.); Flushing Town Hall (located at 137-35 Northern Blvd.; open every day from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.); Gantry Plaza State Park (located at 4-09 47th Rd.; open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.); Jamaica Hospital (located at 8900 Van Wyck Expressway; open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.); Kaufman Arts District (located at 34-12 36th St.; open every day from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.); Queens County Farm Museum, (located at 73-50 Little Neck Parkway; open every day from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.); Rockaway Park (located at the Boardwalk at 86th Street; open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.); Roy Wilkins Recreation Center (located at 177-01 Baisley Blvd.; open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.); Unisphere at Flushing Meadows Corona Park (open every day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.); and Yellowstone Park (located at 68th Avenue and Yellowstone Boulevard; open every day from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.).

Later this year, the 2018 Sing for Hope pianos will be placed in permanent homes at Sing for Hope’s “Citizen Artist Schools,” including these schools Queens: PS 64 (82-01 101st Ave. in Ozone Park); PS197 (825 Hicksville Road in Far Rockaway); IS 10 (45-11 31st Ave. in Long Island City); PS 175Q (64-35 102nd St. in Rego Park); PS 181 (148-15 230th St. in Springfield Gardens); Flushing High School (35-01 Union St. in Flushing); and Louis Armstrong Middle School (32-02 Junction Blvd. in East Elmhurst).

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By William Kregler

TimesLedger Newspapers

Bravo to Community Board 2 in Queens for voting down the ill-conceived protected bike lane proposal.

The rhetoric of the bicycle fanatics in attempting to stir emotions over logic on the issue was appalling. They used the death of bicyclist Gelacio Reyes, who was killed in the intersection of 43rd Avenue and 39th Street at 2:53 a.m. on April 1, 2017, as justification for the expensive project without regards to its negative impact on the community.

Forgetting all the other factors in this case (violation of traffic signals, alcohol, legal status, unlicensed operation, disabling of interlock devices, revoked licenses, etc.) the one undisputed fact is that bike lanes would not have prevented this tragic event from occurring because it happened in the intersection of cross streets. Yet, the bicycle fanatics contended that if one life is saved, then it’s money well spent. That is an opinion of a few and not the consensus of the majority.

Mayor Bill de Blasio will move forward with the project and totally ignore the board’s decision and the concerns of the communities involved. Furthermore, let’s not forget the actions of City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. Van Bramer was so passionate about the idea that he held a press conference at the location of Mr. Reyes’ death, demanding the NYPD move quickly in their investigation — which they did with the arrest of Christian Guiracocha — and calling upon the Department of Transportation to install protected bike lanes on 43rd Avenue. He also inserted a family member on the board of Transportation Alternatives. He then hid in the shadows while ignoring the rally held prior to the community board meeting and did not attend to give his position or support for the proposal he demanded.

If this issue is so important, then make it a proposal for the next election and live with the results. That is the democratic way of doing things. Yet the sad truth is that we are ruled by a dictator for a mayor and the sheepish local officials that support him.

William Kregler

Woodside

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