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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Bernard “Ben” Thompson, a St. Albans war veteran, served as a Weapons Specialist-Heavy Ordinance for the U.S. Air Force during the Vietnam War and was honored for his duty by state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) earlier this month.

“I am proud to induct him into the Senate’s Veterans Hall of Fame for his estimable contributions to Queens, New York state and our entire country,” Comrie said at the May 17 ceremony in Albany.

After finishing his senior year at Richmond High School in 1966, Big Ben, as he is affectionately known by friends and family, enlisted with the 559th Tactical Squadron and joined the Air Force like his uncle before him, Reynold Roberts, and helped to load bombs while at stationed at an air base on Cam Ranh Bay, which was south of Vietnam.

“It was my first time away from home,” said Thompson, the youngest of five siblings. “We were stationed on an air base and provided air support. It was eye-opening.”

Due to back pain from lifting heavy artillery behind F4C fighter jets, he retired as an Airman Second Class in 1968.

“After I left the military I started working in the banking industry,” said Thompson. “Then I was a beer salesman.”

Despite having a fun job selling beer for Anheuser-Busch, Thompson wanted to find another way of serving his country.

In 1980, Thompson joined the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the Proctor Hopson Post #1896 in Jamaica and served as post commander between 1983 and 1985. He is also a life member of the 369th Veterans Association, AMVETS and Disabled American Veterans, a member of the Air Force Association, and he serves on the board of directors of the New York Military Ministry & Fellowship Group.

“Through the VFW we fight for the entitlements due to all veterans and during Christmastime, I’m involved with DHL and Dee’s Nursery and we ship live Christmas trees to the troops in war zones.”

Thompson also collaborates with the Girl Scouts of Nassau County, which has shipped 700,000 boxes of to the troops over the course of 15 years.

He currently works as a despatch agent for the U.S. Department of State.

“We do logistics for all of the embassies around the world,” said Thompson.

Thompson has been married to his wife Gwen for 38 years and has five children. He will celebrate his 71st birthday in August.

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 Carlotta Mohamed

TimesLedger Newspapers

It only took a jury 11 minutes of deliberation to find Steven Torres guilty of murder in the fatal stabbing of a 69-year-old man under an elevated Elmhurst train station on Sept. 16, 2013, the Queens DA’s office said.

Torres, 27, of West 195th Street in the Bronx, was convicted May 24 of second-degree murder after a one-week jury trial before Queens Supreme Court Justice Barry Schwartz. Torres will be sentenced June 8, when he faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

“The victim in this case was killed in a violent, unprovoked attack. The defendant fatally stabbed an innocent bystander in a senseless act of range,” Brown said. “At sentencing, the defendant faces a very long-term of incarceration that will protect others and punish him for this horrible crime.”

After the victim, Ever Orozco, 69, of Woodside, dropped off his wife at a nearby doctor’s office, he parked his car near the station at 90th Street and Elmhurst Avenue at about 1 p.m. He was then viciously attacked and stabbed multiple times by Torres, Brown said, according to trial testimony.

Orozco was rushed to Elmhurst General Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Torres, who was 22 when he stabbed Orozco, was charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the DA’s office. The NYPD had initially said he was being charged with murder as a possible hate crime, but the Queen’s district attorney office said the accusation was lifted as the investigation continued. Torres attacked and killed Orozco because he thought the older man had blown kisses at him, according to Councilman Daniel Dromm (D-Jackson Heights), who chairs the Council’s LGBT Caucus.

“There is no evidence to substantiate this claim, but even if there were, it would not justify such horrific violence,” said Dromm. “It is bone-chilling that someone in our neighborhood was murdered because he was believed to be gay.”

Dromm said the gay panic defense that Torres tried to employ has been discredited by legal experts across the nation and has no place in today’s society.

“I am pleased that the jury helped bring Torres to justice, said Dromm. “I hope this outcome brings some solace to the Orozco family, who have had to endure so much over these past few years.”

State Sen. Jose Peralta (D-East Elmhurst), who spoke at a news conference at the corner of 90th Street and Roosevelt Avenue days after the murder — along with Dromm, then-Comptroller John Liu and state Assemblymen Michael DenDekker and Francisco Moya — to denounce the murder of Ever Orozco, has been fighting to transform Roosevelt Avenue into a destination for families and visitors.

“Some of my proposals to tackle illicit behavior along the commercial thoroughfare include fighting sex trafficking, the sale of drugs and the fake identification market,” Peralta said Wednesday. “We need to ensure we all work together and act to convert this busy commercial corridor into a gem by getting rid of the bad actors.”

Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4526.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Walter Ware, 46, a Brooklyn man was charged in the Baisley Park murder of Raymond Rue of South Jamaica last week. Ware has been charged with murder and criminal possession of a weapon

On May 16, just steps away from his apartment in the Baisley Park housing project Rue, 41, was shot in the head at 2 a.m., according to Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

Surveillance video shows the defendant raise a firearm toward the victim’s head and fire at least one shot, according to Brown.

The surveillance video also showed another individual, whom the police said they were still on the lookout for, according to the criminal complaint filed by the DA.

“This is another senseless act of gun violence in our community,” said Brown. “The defendant in this case is charged with shooting a 41-year-old man in the hallway of the apartment in which he lived.”

Rue lived on the second floor of the housing complex.

Detective James Zozzaro of the 113th Precinct conducted the investigation into the murder. Ware was arraigned May 22 and ordered to return to court May 24.

If convicted, Ware faces up to 25 years to life in prison.

“This kind of brutality will not be tolerated. The defendant now faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life behind bars,” said Brown.

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

Several elected officials in Queens reached out to District Attorney Richard Brown in a letter last week in hopes that he would follow in the footsteps of the Manhattan and Brooklyn districts attorneys by not prosecuting low-level marijuana offenses.

The letter, issued May 21, was signed by U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Jamaica), state Sen. Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans), state Assembly members Clyde Vanel (D-Queens Village) and Alicia Hyndman (D-Springfield Gardens), and City Council members Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica), I. Daneek Miller (D-St. Albans), Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights), Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) and Donovan Richards (D-Far Rockaway).

The letter was released a week after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that there would be sweeping changes in low-level marijuana prosecutions following a series of troubling reports illustrating the huge racial disparities in those types of arrests.

Police data from February 2018 showed that of the 17,000 people arrested for low-level marijuana–related offenses last year, 14,530 were people of color. Among that population 48 percent were black and 38 percent were Hispanic or Latino.

“Marijuana is not a threat to our public safety, which is why we are calling on Queens District Attorney Brown to follow the lead of his colleagues,” said Richards, chairman of the Council’s Committee on Public Safety.

Queens Village, Cambria Heights, Laurelton, Rosedale and Springfield Gardens — all located within the 105th Precinct — comprised of 9 percent of the city’s total marijuana summonses in 2016, according to the data reviewed by the elected officials. In 2017, the precinct had the highest number of summonses in the five boroughs with 2,199 cases.

In 2016, there were 416 arrests in the neighborhoods of Jamaica and Hollis, and 82 percent of those people were black and Hispanic/Latino, according to the lawmakers.

When questioned about the racial disparity in February, the NYPD said it was responding to areas where people made the most 911 and 311 complaints, but after months of data compilation and cross-referencing grievances and arrests, Politico and The New York Times reported in March and May that there is no link between the two.

The New York Times also looked at 2016 data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health that found whites, blacks and Hispanics smoke weed at similar rates.

Brown, however, has no intention of rushing into a new process for prosecuting low-level marijuana cases, and will instead wait for the NYPD’s 30-Day Working Group to finish its review into the Police Department’s enforcement practices and policies. The group is looking into better ways to tackle the issue.

In the meantime, Brown has conducted his own analysis, which revealed that of the 2,507 marijuana cases that came to his office from May 1, 2017 to April 30, 2018, approximately 97 percent did not result in a criminal conviction.

Most of the defendants in Queens were issued desk appearance tickets and were not held in custody awaiting arraignment, and the only times warrants were issued was when someone failed to appear at a scheduled court date. Some cases were adjourned in contemplation of dismissal, and ultimately 2.4 percent of cases resulted in a conviction of a crime opposed to a violation, according to Brown.

Queens officials want to work with Brown, but they hope he changes his procedures sooner rather than later.

“Our youth cannot wait for our future leaders to right this wrong as one minor mistake can stick with them for the rest of their life,” said Richards.

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 Carlotta Mohamed

TimesLedger Newspapers

Flushing Town Hall has been awarded a $10,000 grant by the Keith Haring Foundation to support Global Arts for Global Kids, an arts education public program.

“Flushing Town Hall is deeply grateful for the generous support of The Keith Haring Foundation,” said Executive & Artistic Director Ellen Kodadek. “This grant will allow us to continue providing affordable, high-quality instruction and performances to students and families who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience the arts.”

The Keith Haring Foundation, which makes grants to not-for-profit groups that engage in charitable and educational activities, will make more tickets to performances and workshops available to teens for free, offset transportation costs for low-income schools, provide artist fees and enhance multi-lingual marketing and outreach for Education and public programs.

Earlier this month, Flushing Town Hall received a $60,000 grant from the National Endowment for Arts for its educational arts program, which includes global music, dance, international children’s theater and multi-disciplinary family and school programs.

The funding will support Flushing Town Hall’s program series entitled “Journeys,” which features 140 global artists. The theme of “Journeys” will resonate with audiences in Queens, where nearly half of residents are immigrants who have established new homes at the end of long journeys.

Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4526.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

Officials at LaGuardia Community College have been pressing the city for safety improvements along a dangerous three-way intersection in front of their Long Island City campus where a 16-year-old high school student was struck and killed in 2013.

Tenzin Drudak, a student from Tibet who lived in Woodside and attended the nearby Applied Communications High School, was struck by a speeding motorist who jumped the curb on Thomson Avenue, killing Drudak and injuring four others.

Mayor Bill de Blasio allocated $17 million to redesign the area where Thomson Avenue, Queens Boulevard and Van Dam Street create a dangerous mix of vehicles coming off the Queensboro Bridge and driving along crowded sidewalks filled with pedestrians and cyclists from LaGuardia Community College, Bard High School and the LaGuardia Performing Arts Center. The city Department of Transportation did implement some measures following Drudak’s death, including the elimination of a series of turns and the creation of a 550-square-foot pedestrian space that blocked the right turn from Thomson Avenue onto Skillman Avenue.

LaGuardia Community College wanted more to protect its more than 50,000 students as well as their faculty and staff.

On Tuesday night, the DOT presented its latest plan to redesign the streets during a public presentation on campus. The agency proposed adding pedestrian connectivity through crosswalks, pedestrian ramps and signals with implementation in late fall 2018 or early spring 2019. The DOT would also investigate signal timing improvements and upgrading traffic patterns. In addition, the agency said it would enhance sidewalks with upgraded materials, furniture and landscaping, improve pedestrian safety at intersections with high visibility and, if possible, raise crosswalks and would make all curb ramps ADA-compliant.

“The visuals from Tuesday night’s meeting are concepts in development,” a DOT spokesman said. “We were happy to go to LaGuardia Community College for this discussion, from which we gained valuable insights, and we look forward to continuing the conversation with all community stakeholders. We are evaluating ways to expand Vision Zero treatments along this corridor, including rapid response safety enhancements to the intersection of Thomson, Van Dam and Queens Boulevard. We are looking at corridor-wide safety improvements at intersections with high crash histories, including the intersection of Van Dam/Thomson/Queens Boulevard and the intersection of Thomson/Skillman Avenue.”

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 Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

The MTA will temporarily offer discounted rates with a pilot program for commuters traveling between Brooklyn and Queens from Atlantic Terminal on the Long Island Rail Road to experiment how offering lower fares will affect ridership.

The study, called Atlantic Ticket, will offer lower rates to LIRR riders who commute through the Brooklyn hub in an attempt to fill seats on these trains, which have greater capacity than those traveling to and from Penn Station.

“Many of our customers from eastern and southeastern Queens live near enough to the LIRR to use it regularly, but because of our existing fare structure they’ve historically chosen to commute using a combination of MTA subways and buses,” MTA Chair Joseph Lhota said. “This study will let us gauge whether lowering LIRR fares has an effect on ridership of the LIRR, subway and express buses. We also want to see how the policy change affects existing LIRR operations.”

The stations in Queens where commuters can take advantage of $5 rates at all hours are in Hollis, Jamaica, Laurelton, Locust Manor, Queens Village, Rosedale and St. Albans.

The $5 fare will represent a 51 percent reduction in price from the peak hour charge of $10.25 and a 33 percent decrease from the off-peak $7.50, the MTA said.

The MTA said this would make up for the $2.75 a customer would have to pay for a transfer to the subway.

The study was suggested by New York City Transit Riders Council led by Andrew Albert, an MTA board member.

“I am extremely gratified that our proposal is being given a thorough and well-publicized test for southeast Queens and Brooklyn,” Albert said. “We believe this will change travel patterns and give people a lot more of their personal time back at a reasonable rate. It may also reduce overcrowding on several overcrowded subway lines.”

Weekly tickets will be reduced to $60 under the study, which begins June 6, but these rates will not be available on the train.

This is nearly the same amount as the unlimited weekly fare for express buses offered by the state agency for $59.

“This one-way fare is intended to attract customers traveling occasionally or interested in trying out LIRR before purchasing the weekly pass,” Lhota said.

To take advantage of the discounted prices, riders must buy from the ticket counter or a ticketing machine and not through the MTA eTix app, the agency said.

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 Carlotta Mohamed

TimesLedger Newspapers

Two people suffered minor injuries after a car crashed into a parked school bus last Friday at about 5:30 a.m. along Atlantic Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard in Queens, the NYPD reported.

When firefighters and police officers from the 102nd Precinct arrived at the scene of the collision, they found a 2013 white sedan pinned under the school bus, parked on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Woodhaven Boulevard.

A 26-year-old male driving a 2013 BMW Sedan was heading westbound on Atlantic Avenue, when a 41-year-old male driver of a 2003 SUV Acura made a left turn onto Woodhaven Boulevard, hitting the BMW that slammed into the back of the school bus, according to NYPD.

Both drivers from the vehicles were taken to Jamaica Hospital Medical Center with unknown injuries.

There were no children on the school bus at the time of the collision.

The NYPD said no arrests have been made.

Reach reporter Carlotta Mohamed by e-mail at cmohamed@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4526.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Mark Hallum

TimesLedger Newspapers

The Bayside Village BID will hold its first “Bell Blvd. Food & Music Fest” in an effort to bring all the best tastes along the corridor out into the street to mix with a variety of other fun activities.

Christine Silletti, the executive director of the Business Improvement District, is finishing her first year at the helm of the organization by helping to create the festival, which brings in Bell Boulevard’s restaurants as well as the bars and pubs for the over-21 crowd.

“We have amazing restaurants on Bell. They’re all quality places to eat and it’s a really diverse offer of cuisines,” Silletti said. “We had some really great events over the past year, but we hadn’t really had anything our bars and pubs could participate in, so we worked with [Community Board 11] and a couple of city agencies so we could get permitting so that our bars as well as our restaurants could participate.”

The Sunday, June 3, event will run from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. The portion of the day of most interest to the foodies in the crowd will kick off at 2 p.m.

Every block will feature live music, according to Sillitti, but perhaps the most interesting draw is what she refers to as the “pop-up park,” a large square of fresh sod which will be placed in the street where people can relax and play a few games of beach volleyball.

Altogether 30 businesses within the confines of the BID will be participating alongside New Golden Wine & Liquor, located at 41-08 Bell Blvd.

Free salsa dance classes will be held on the street with instructors and dancers from Queens Dance Project, located on Bell and 41st Avenue.

“There are events for the community, in addition to the restaurant stroll. If people don’t want to do the restaurant stroll, there are still plenty of fun things to do here on that day,” Silletti said.

Some of the newer eating establishments will flaunt their culinary skills during the event such as, Taverna Kyclades, which most recently opened up at 39-28 Bell Blvd.; Fishscale at 38-17 Bell Blvd.; Bayside Dumpling at 42-18 Bell Blvd.; and the Crown Room at 39-17 Bell Blvd.

Bell Boulevard will be closed off to cars from 38th to 42rd avenues. Attendees can check in to the event at 42nd and 43rd avenues.

Advanced tickets purchased through www.baysidevillagebid.com/bellblvdfoodfest are $25 for adults and $10 for children and using the discount code “bayside5off” will reduce the price even further from the same-day ticket price of $35.

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