Uncategorized

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

The City Council voted overwhelmingly to approve a bill that would require power plant operators to end the use of dirty fuel oils, which will decrease hazardous emissions and pollution.

The legislation, co-sponsored by City Councilman Costa Constantinides (D-Astoria), mandates that power plants phase out the use of No. 4 heating fuel oil earlier than the currently mandated deadline by following either of two options.

If plant operators adhere to the currently mandated 2020 deadline of eliminating No. 6 fuel oil, they must stop using No. 4 fuel oil by 2025, which is five years earlier than the currently mandated 2030 deadline. Plant operators can also chose to keep using No. 6 fuel oil until 2022. However, they must also stop using No. 4 oil by that time and immediately transition to ultra-low sulfur No. 2 oil or another type of fuel.

No. 6 fuel oil is from the bottom of the crude oil barrel and is the most polluting of the three grades burned in New York City. No. 4 is a heavy oil that is slighly less damaging to the environment. No. 2 is the cleanest of the three fuel oils but the most expensive.

“For decades, power plants have been notorious for emitting dangerous pollutants that risk our environment and public health,” Constantinides said. “This pollution has contributed to increased respiratory illnesses, higher asthma rates, emergency room visits, and other public health issues. Ending the use of dirty fuel oils will reduce these emissions and bring benefits to our public health, including reduced risk of asthma and hospital visits.”

Constantinides, who is head of the City Council’s Environmental Protection Committee, noted that 50 percent of the city’s power comes from generation plants in Astoria and Long Island City, known as “Asthma Alley” for pollutants caused by the plants as well as air traffic into and out of LaGuardia Airport.

Legislation authored by City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) to keep parks clean and safe after the application of pesticides was also passed. The bill requires the city’s Park Department to clean playground equipment within 24 hours after the spraying of pesticides by any city agency.

“Cleaning our city’s playgrounds after the application of pesticides is common-sense policy that will protect public health and quality of life for children and families throughout New York City,” Van Bramer said. “I fought for this legislation after several constituents came to me complaining about sludge left over from pesticide spraying at multiple playgrounds in my district. By passing this bill, we are ensuring that the health of our children and families come first, and our parks will be a safe and healthy public space for all.”

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

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two schools in the Rockaways are among the 14 New York City schools scheduled for closure, Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña announced Monday. A Bronx school where one student was stabbed to death, and another injured was also to be terminated.

The Brian Piccolo Middle School (MS 53) and the Robert Vernam School (PS/MS 42) are the two renewal schools in Queens on the chopping block, according to the chancellor.

Piccolo is located at 10-45 Naemoke St. in Far Rockaway and Vernam is at 488 Beach 66th St. in Arverne.

Schools under the renewal program slated to be closed received funding to help them improve, but failed to show any sustainable progress, according to Farina.

The schools that were closed had a combination of poor test scores, enrollment, college readiness, attendance, and classroom instruction as well as school leadership, according to an analysis by the city’s Department of Education. Those schools’ also had chronic absenteeism.

Fariña determined students would be served better by attending a stronger or higher performing school.

The Urban Assembly School for Wildlife Conservation in the Bronx, a school on the renewal list, which had a student who was fatally stabbed to death, another sent to the hospital and a third arrested, was among the 14 proposed to be shutdown.

City Council Education Committee Chairman Daniel Dromm’s office (D-Jackson Heights) cited reports from student witnesses that blamed the stabbing on anti-gay bullying episodes that were not addressed by the school administration.

Despite the closures, four schools in Queens that were on the renewal list and made small, but steady gains will be among the Rise School Program, according to the DOE. These schools met 67 percent of their benchmark in improving test scores, attendance, and college readiness, and will receive less renewal resources going forward.

The Pan American International High School (Elmhurst), Ocean School Elementary (Far Rockaway), Richard S. Grossley Junior High School (Jamaica) and John Adams High School (Ozone Park) are the four Rise schools in the borough, according to the DOE.

“We’re not giving up,” said Fariña. “We are just tweaking a little bit about where the support is needed.”

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

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Four men have pleaded guilty to blow-torching their way into the Maspeth Federal Savings Bank branch in Rego Park, and another bank in Brooklyn in the spring of 2016, making off with more than $5 million in cash, jewelry, collectibles and other valuables form vaults and safety deposit boxes, U.S. officials said last Friday.

Michael Mazzara, Charles Kerrigan, Anthony Mascuzzio and Christopher Kerrigan formed the crew that used acetylene torches to cut into the top of the banks’ vaults from the roofs of the buildings, according to the criminal complaint file dby the U.S. attorney’s office in Manhattan.

At the Maspeth Federal Savings Bank branch, located at 64-19 Woodhaven Blvd., sometime between May 19 to the 22, the four men shielded their activities from view by constructing a plywood shed on the roof of the bank. The burglars then entered the vaults from above and took cash belonging to the bank and broke open customers’ safe deposit boxes, stealing the valuables inside, according to the indictments.

An employee of the bank discovered the hole when opening the premises July 23 and called the NYPD.

Surveillance footage captured some of the gangs’ activities as they prepared for and executed the burglaries. Financial records and video surveillance also showed Mazzara and Mascuzzio purchasing some of the supplies that appear to have been used in the Queens burglary, federal prosecutors said.

At the time of their arrests in July 2016, then-police Commissioner William Bratton likened the burglaries to scenes from the movie “Heat,” calling the crews’ plan “well organized, meticulous and elusive to law enforcement.” The 1995 Michael Mann-directed film starring Al Pacino and Robert de Niro follows a group of professional bank robbers who unknowingly leave a clue for investigators.

The crew robbed an HSBC branch in Borough Park, Brooklyn, from April 8-10, 2016

All four defendants pleaded guilty at separate Manhattan federal court hearings and will be sentenced later this year, according to prosecutors. Mazzara and Mascuzzio of Brooklyn and Kerrigan from Staten Island face maximum sentences of 10 years apiece while Kerrigan, from Brooklyn, is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years. He pleaded guilty to one count of witness retaliation while on pre-trial release, in connection with the assault of an individual whom he believed had provided information regarding the burglaries to the FBI and the NYPD, the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office said.

“Like a scene from a movie, these defendants used blow torches to cut into bank roofs, and subsequently vaults and safety deposit boxes, to steal more than $5 million in cash and customer valuables,” Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim said. “But the scene in court today was of guilty pleas under oath and the prospect of real-life prison.”

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

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

TimesLedger Newspapers

Whoever thought that dressing up like Santa and going on a pub crawl with all your friends was a great holiday idea probably did not get the credit he or she desreves. Because the birth of what has come to be called Santathon has been a major contribution to the already crowded field of Yuletide traditions.

In Woodside, nine bars along Queens Boulevard — all within walking distance of each other — have turned the rollicking Santa fest into a holiday fundraiser, now in its sixth year. In case you missed it, here’s a sample of last week’s Santathon.

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Cinephiles who are patrons of Queens Public Library are in luck.

On Dec. 13 the extensive library system, which has 62 branches, launched the Kanopy video and film streaming service for cardholders in the borough, according to the library’s spokeswoman, Elisabeth de Bourbon.

Through the new streaming service cardholders can have access to more than 30,000 foreign-language films, award-winning documentaries, instructional videos, and classic movies, according to de Bourbon.

“Our goal is to offer our customers new ways to grow, discover, and succeed in their lives,” said Queens Library President and CEO Dennis M. Walcott. “Kanopy’s intelligent, compelling collection of films helps us deliver for them, and satisfy their appetite for learning and information. And with the holidays upon us, we hope they will have extra time to explore and stream the offerings from this terrific service.”

Kanopy is a San Francisco-based on-demand streaming service, which was founded in 2008 as an educational tool for 3,000 colleges and universities worldwide and has 5 million streamers, according to the company.

This expansion into the Queens library system would definitely give the streaming service a wider audience, because the 62 community branches combined has 11.2 million visitors a year, according to de Bourbon.

The streaming service showcases well-known and hard-to-find titles through collections such as the Criterion Collection, Kino Lorber, Music Box Films, Samuel Goldwyn, The Orchard, The Great Courses, PBS and thousands of independent filmmakers, according to Queens Library.

Films set in or about Queens, such as the Tribeca Film Festival winner “Between Us,” the acclaimed historical drama “Leonie,” and the L.A. Outfest winner “Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House,” as well as many others will be featured in the streaming system, according to Queens Library.

Queens Library e-cardholders will be able to access six films a month from the streaming service through queenslibrary.kanopy.com or by downloading Kanopy from apps for iOs, Android and Roku just to name a few.

Kanopy also accommodates the visually or hearing impaired with captions, transcripts and JAWS screen readers, according to de Bourbon.

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

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Ronald B. Hellman

TimesLedger Newspapers

My wish list for Queens this holiday season has only one item – new theater venues! Regular readers of this column know that I frequently lament the lack of state-of-the-art locales to house our local community theaters. Mainly confined to churches and other make-do spaces, these companies do their best with minimal budgets and resources in this borough of at least 2.3 million inhabitants, a number larger than most cities.

Recently I saw a show at The Pershing Square Signature Center on 42nd Street near 10th Avenue in Manhattan. Designed by renowned architect Frank Gehry, it consists of three theaters – one with 294 seats, the others with 191 each – plus two studios, a shared lobby with a café and a bookshop, and offices, all spanning 75,000 square feet. It opened in 2012 and was funded through a public-private partnership, with the city of New York allocating $27.5 million.

Then Mayor Michael Bloomberg recognized that “cultural institutions are the lifeblood of our city” and proclaimed that the center is “a big, bold transformative project, that will bring more people, more growth, and more vitality” to Manhattan’s West Side. The question is: Why can’t Queens, with its vast and multi-cultural population, have something like this?

Sure, some of us take a bridge or tunnel to the “City,” but many don’t, and even though the Signature Theatre has an exceptionally low ticket price of $30 for most of its shows, a trip to Broadway and Off can be quite a costly and time-consuming adventure. And if you want good seats to a hit show and look to dine at a fine restaurant, deep pockets are a necessity. We need – and deserve – some real and affordable theaters right in our home borough. What do you think?

The play that I saw at Signature was “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train,” by Stephen Adly Guirgis. You probably have not seen any of his work in Queens, unless you saw The Outrageous Fortune Company’s production of “Our Lady of 121st Street” in March 2009 at Queens Theatre in the Park. Guirgis is one of our best contemporary playwrights — he recently won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for “Between Riverside and Crazy,” and his play with an unprintable title about a Hat was on Broadway.

Another leading playwright of today, not visable to audiences in Queens, is Martin McDonagh, although Outrageous Fortune did his “The Cripple of Inishmaan” in March 2003. “The Beauty Queen of Leenane” was an early huge success, he has “Hangmen,” a prize-winner in London, coming to New York next month, and his latest film, “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri,” is playing now, and destined to receive several Academy Award nominations.

The point is that our local community theaters tend to avoid the wealth of contemporary plays that are presented across the East River. These well-reviewed plays are almost always limited to a short run due to economic conditions, but could have new life in our borough. But the locals tend to rely on works from yesteryear on the theory that only familiar titles will attract an audience, even though most groups have a tough time filling their seats.

I’m sure that new modern venues will generate publicity along with the freedom and courage to produce new and challenging material that will bring in a wider audience, especially a younger and diverse one that theater desperately needs to survive.

Again, what do you think?

Contact Ron Hellman at rbhofc@gmail.com

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger

See this story at TimesLedger.com.

By Zach Gewelb

TimesLedger Newspapers

Major League Baseball has seen a slow start to its hot stove season, and the Mets have been no different.

The team dipped into the reliever market and has added some depth. But Mets fans who are expecting the team to make a big, splashy move will be disappointed.

It seems as though General Manager Sandy Alderson is operating with a tight budget, cutting payroll from last season. There may be a few bucks to spend, but given the way the free agent market typically develops, it’s unlikely the Mets will spend big on a first baseman, second baseman or outfielder, all areas of need.

So what can fans resonably expect from the Mets the rest of the offseason?

First, let’s take a look at the moves the team has already made.

Mets ink free-agent reliever

The Mets officially announced the signing of free-agent reliever Anthony Swarzak to a two-year, $14 million contract last Friday. Swarzak, 32, pitched to a 2.33 ERA in 77 1/3 innings in a breakout season with the White Sox and the Brewers in 2016. The righty also struck out a career-best 10.6 batters per nine innings, adding another arm that can generate swing-and-misses from the bullpen.

It was no secret that Alderson and the Mets were looking to add another reliever to the mix, but they are taking a big chance on Swarzak. He spent the first five years of his career in Minnesota, where he pitched to a 4.48 ERA, before moving onto Cleveland in 2015.

He only appeared in 10 games for the tribe before he went to the Bronx in 2016, where he struggled with the Yankees, pitching to a 5.52 ERA in 26 games. He signed with the White Sox before the 2017 season and pitched well before the team shipped him off to Milwaukee ahead of the trade deadline and finished the season on a high note with the Brewers.

Swarzak doesn’t have overpowering stuff, but he deepens the bullpen, adding to the core of A.J. Ramos, Jeurys Familia and Jerry Blevins.

The price may be a bit high for someone of Swarzak’s track record, but all-in-all, it seems like a good move for the Mets.

Mets add veteran catcher

The Mets signed free-agent catcher Jose Lobaton to a minor-league contract last Friday.

Lobaton, who spent time as the Nationals’ back-up catcher last year, is expected to compete for playing time with incumbents Travis d’Arnaud and Kevin Plawecki.

While the Mets will likely go into the season with d’Arnaud and Plawecki as No. 1 and 2 on the depth chart, Lobaton offers insurance in the event of injury or ineffectiveness.

He had a down year in 2017, batting just .170/.248/.277 with four homers and 11 RBIs in 51 games. He has a reputation for being a strong defensive catcher who works well with pitching staffs.

The signing will not move the needle too much, but Lobaton provides good value as a third catcher.

Moves left to make

The Mets should still be searching for a first baseman to compete with Dominic Smith, a utlity infielder who can play second and third base and another outfielder. There are still plenty of options available, but the Mets need to be aggressive before being backed into a corner.

They can try to swing a trade, perhaps for a veteran infielder like Jed Lowrie (Oakland) or Jason Kipnis (Cleveland) and could look to bring back Jay Bruce as a first baseman/outfielder.

It will ultimately come down to cost, and while the trio is certainly not cheap, they could bring good value to the club under the right circumstances.

If the Mets can bring in some support and add some depth, they can slip right back into playoff contention and make some noise in 2018.

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

Comment on this story.

Source: Times Ledger