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By Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

A controversial spa in College Point is in trouble once again.

State Sen. Tony Avella (D-Bayside) received a letter from the New York State Department of Labor informing him that Spa Castle, located at 31-10 11th Ave., had been fined $1,000 for violating the Child Labor Statute.

Labor Department Commissioner Roberta Reardon wrote to Avella Jan. 30 about an investigation that was completed in December 2017.

According to Reardon, investigators visited Spa Castle on various occasions and times looking for violations of state laws. “After meticulous review of Spa Castle’s wage and hour records, we substantiated a violation of Article 4, the Child Labor Statute,” she told the senator in the letter.

The statute bans minors from working late hours on school nights.

Reardon said the spa was served a notice of violation on Nov. 4 with a penalty of $1,000, which they paid in full. The investigators were not able to substantiate any allegations regarding overtime.

This is not the first time Spa Castle has made headlines.

In March 2017, the spa owners were charged by state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman with 11 felony charges for their alleged theft or failure to remit over $1.5 million in sales and other taxes owed.

In April 2017, a woman was arrested for running over a Spa Castle security guard. Rev. Kevin McCall, of the National Action Network Leaders, held a press conference on behalf of the injured employee, Deion Wright, and asked that the spa be closed down until security concerns were addressed.

“They have one security guard and he’s injured,” McCall said at the press conference. “So as we speak they have no security guard and they’re open from 8 a.m. to midnight everyday. It’s important and imperative that they have some kind of security and that safety concerns are met.”

In March 2016, the CityHealth Department ordered the spa to close all of its pools after a 6-year-old girl almost drowned that February. The Health Department found the facility was out of compliance with its safety plan, and there was excessive suction by a water-return feature that was enough to draw the victim toward it and keep her underwater.

Avella has pressured the city on multiple occasions to create a task force that would monitor spa establishments, particularly the College Point Spa Castle location.

Following the letter from Reardon, he said this latest violation came as no surprise.

“After years of expressing my concerns about Spa Castle, I am not in the least bit surprised to find out that they were in violation of yet another law or regulation,” he said. “I’m glad to hear that the state has taken action to ensure that Spa Castle follows the labor laws and hope that they maintain a close eye on this establishment.”

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

When three-quarters of the City Council gets term-limited out of office in 2021, many political leaders will be looking for new opportunities in public service. City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside) will be among them and he has already set in motion his plan of action, announcing last week that he will run for Queens Borough President, as current Borough President Melinda Katz is also term-limited and considering a run for mayor.

“I’ve got as Queens a resume as you will find anywhere,” Van Bramer said. “I’ve never lived anywhere else and I want to continue to serve the borough I’ve always called home.”

He was born at old St. John’s Hospital on Queens Boulevard, raised in Astoria and attended PS 70 and William Cullen Bryant High School. After graduating from St. John’s University, Van Bramer became a community organizer and went to work as a reporter for Lesbian and Gay New York, which is now Gay City News, where he brought attention to the AIDS epidemic, bias and hate crimes.

Van Bramer went on to serve as Chief External Affairs Officer of Queens Library for a decade and also served as the president of Queens Council on the Arts. These experiences served him well at the City Council, where he was appointed chairman of the Cultural Affairs and Libraries Committee in 2010, a position Van Bramer is still holding now in his third and final term representing Long Island City, Sunnyside, Woodside and parts of Astoria.

“I’m just someone who has a passion for the diversity and people of every neighborhood in Queens,” Van Bramer said. “The feedback I have gotten since announcing has been enthusiastic and supportive, because we’ve done an awful lot of good in my district and people across the borough have noticed. They also saw our Queens Values march across the Queensboro Bridge to Trump Tower just weeks after the election.”

Thousands joined him at Queensboro Plaza to rally against President Donald Trump’s policies on immigration and civil liberties, and the march solidified his standing as one of the borough’s leaders of the resistance movement.

“I want to keep bringing progressive change to the borough,” Van Bramer said. “Together, we can ensure that every neighborhood enjoys the things that make our city so great — world-class schools, libraries, parks and housing that the middle class and those struggling to make it can afford. A place where every person, regardless of where they came from, what they look like, how they worship and who they love is welcome and included.”

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 Bill Parry

TimesLedger Newspapers

George Kaufman, a Manhattan real estate developer who acquired the old Astoria Studios in 1982 that helped bring a renaissance to an entire neighborhood in the process, died Tuesday at age 89.

The area had been badly impacted by the closing of the complex in the 70s, but after its revival, Kaufman Astoria Studios became an anchor in a growing, vibrant neighborhood that has been proclaimed the Kaufman Arts District, the first arts district in Queens.

“George was so much more than a real estate developer,” Kaufman Astoria Studios President and CEO Hal Rosenbluth said. “He understood deep in his bones the importance of investing in New York’s communities because they are the very foundation of the City’s greatness. He was a visionary who saw the promise of film and television production work in New York long before it became an integral part of the City’s economy.”

The Kaufman Arts District, which spans a 24-block area, is home to seven institutions, including the Museum of the Moving Image, the Queens Council on the Arts and the Frank Sinatra School of the Arts. The district is bound between 31st and Steinway streets and 34th and 37th avenues, an area that was neglected and rundown until Kaufman bought the underused property at 34-12 36th St., which is now one of the largest film and television production studios on the East Coast.

Angelo Rizzo, the maintenance foreman for Kaufman Astoria Studios, described how growing up in the area, the studio was vacant and scary until “Mr. K” came along. Pete Romano, the vice president of operations at Kaufman Astoria Studios, grew up a block away and marveled at the changes to the neighborhood when it was designated the Kaufman Arts District in 2014.

“My folks wouldn’t let me cross 35th Avenue,” he said. “It was devastation, nothing but abandoned buildings. Now look at it.”

Kaufman is survived by his wife, Mariana, and a daughter, Cynthia. Funeral services will take place Monday, Feb. 26 at 11:30 a.m. at Temple Emanu-El in Manhattan.

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 Gina Martinez

TimesLedger Newspapers

A Corona man has been convicted for stealing singer John Legend’s luggage from JFK last March, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said.

A jury found 64-year-old Agustin Hilario guilty of criminally possessing the carry-on Louis Vuitton luggage, which contained clothing, toiletries and an expensive pair of Cartier panther-head cuff links. Brown said Hilario rolled the bag away after it was left unattended on a cart at Terminal 4 at Kennedy Airport.

After a week-long trial that included testimony from Legend, a jury found Hilario guilty of third-degree criminal possession of stolen property. Queens Supreme Court Justice Ira Margulis set sentencing for March 12, at which time Hilario faces up to seven years in prison.

According to Brown, the Grammy-winning singer returned to New York City from France March 23 and was leaving Terminal 4 when his Louis Vuitton carry-on bag was left unattended on a luggage cart. Brown said security footage of the terminal showed Hilario approaching the cart and pushing it away from the area before he took the black leather bag and drove away from the airport with the luggage.

Brown said Hilario was identified by a Port Authority police officer who recognized him from the footage and tried calling him on his mobile phone.

When he could not get in contact with Hilario, a police officer called a friend of his and Hilario responded and promised to return the bag to the airport. Brown said he did not return the bag when he said he would and had to be contacted again. According to Brown, when Hilario was arrested he told police, “I know I should not have taken it. I made a mistake.”

Legend testified in court that the cuff links were very special to him because his wife, model Chrissy Teigen, had given him the diamond and green stone accessories as an anniversary gift and that she had spent a lot of time looking for them. Brown said Legend told the jury his high school mascot was a panther and that he estimated the value of the cuff links to be between $25,000 and $30,000. According to Brown, the Louis Vuitton bag alone is worth around $3,000. Hilario did eventually return the bag and its contents to Port Authority Police, who reunited Legend with his belongings.

Reach Gina Martinez by e-mail at gmartinez@cnglocal.com or by phone at (718) 260–4566.

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Source: Times Ledger

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By Naeisha Rose

TimesLedger Newspapers

Community education council leaders, School District 29’s budget director and its deputy superintendent were at Lorraine Hansberry Elementary School (PS 118) last week at 190-20 109th Road in St. Albans to discuss the $32.5 billion 2018-2019 fiscal budget for New York City’s 1.1 million students, as well as pensions for teachers.

Before the meeting started, fourth and fifth-grade students at PS 118 performed an African dance for Black History Month, followed by a step dance, then mimed to gospel music while dressed in black and adorned in colorful African wraps.

According to Principal Lezly Buchanan, the school does not have a formal arts program and fifth-grade teacher Michelle Lopez volunteers her time to help the students with choreography for dance routines.

Buchanan hoped with a representative of the superintendent’s office in attendance that the performance highlighted PS 118 and perhaps helped the school, which was named after a playwright, receive funding towards dance, music, theatre and writing programs.

The panel of CEC leaders and the deputy superintendent then rolled out their agenda, which was to remind parents about the city’s school survey meant to help institutions learn how they could improve, and another survey for questions to give to Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña for a town hall meeting at PS 32 from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 26 at 171-11 35th Ave. in Flushing.

Deputy Superintendent Shawn Rux also reminded parents who had fifth graders to consider looking at the honors program at Jean Nuzzi Middle School — located in Queens Village — which will be starting in September, and to remember that if their child was born in 2014, they could apply for preschool for their tots.

Afterwards, the district’s budget director broke down how the massive budget would be allocated.

Districts 1 to 32, 75, 79 and 88 will receive approximately $14 billion to support educational services, according to the District 29 representative.

$10.4 billion was allocated for non-controllable costs. Approximately $6.9 billion of that went towards retirement pensions and paid benefits for education personnel. The remaining $3.7 billion will go towards centrally funded services on behalf of schools and students.

Those services included transportation, food, facilities, custodial costs and electrical bills.

An estimated $3.7 billion will be allocated towards special education, private schools, charter schools, and non-public schools, while another $3.7 billion will go towards support systems for schools.

An additional $700 million will go to superintendent officers, field support centers, family welcome centers and committees on special education.

Through the Fair Student Funding initiative, all public schools will receive $225,000 in foundational funding, approximately $4,100 per student weight. Schools in need of academic intervention that have special education programs, English Language Learners courses and that have extra sessions (Nursing, Health, Theater, Economics, Arts, etc.) will receive even more funds per student in those programs.

Kindergarten to fifth-grade students have a 1.00 weight ($4,100), middle school kids have a 1.08 weight ($4,428) and high-schoolers have a 1.03 weight ($4,223), according to the budget.

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

Astoria Houses received new rooftop generators for surge protection from storms on Feb. 14 purchased with FEMA funds awarded to NYCHA following Superstorm Sandy in 2012, which affected up 60,000 residents living in homes managed by the city agency.

The December 2015 FEMA grant of $3 billion has so far funded $1.85 billion in contracts to make NYCHA buildings and their inhabitants less likely to experience the hardships of future storms to come through structural reinforcement, storm surge protection and infrastructure upgrades.

“Our Sandy recovery work shows that NYCHA can be a leader in rebuilding stronger, more resilient cities,” NYCHA Chair Shola Olatoye said. “This unprecedented public investment will provide the almost 60,000 NYCHA residents who were affected by Superstorm Sandy with safe, stable homes in the face of future storms and the undeniable consequences of climate change.”

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-Astoria) took credit for securing $75 million in federal funds for the NYCHA recovery effort.

“Additional work needs to be done, but these resiliency improvements, along with the rooftop generators, are a step in the right direction and will go a long way to protect our residents during future storms and hurricanes,” state Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan (D-Ridgewood) said.

But state and other elected officials have been critical of the extended wait time on NYCHA housing improvements and repairs.

Mayor Bill de Blasio defended his administration against claims from the state that the city was not acting fast enough to bring reliable heat and hot water to NYCHA residents over the course of the winter.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo had proposed issuing a state of emergency for NYCHA buildings in the face of a harsh winter, but de Blasio countered by telling the “Brian Lehrer Show” the state had never followed through with delivering promised recovery funds.

“First of all the state has not provided us with the funding from several budgets ago, let alone the $200 million that was allocated in the last state budget back last April, 2017des old, we would welcome that conversation, we would try to work together. But if the state’s trying to score political points, and deal in simplistic ideas that are not really going to help the people of the public housing buildings in our city who are 400,000 New Yorkers, you know, then let’s be honest about what’s really going on,” de Blasio said. “If the state really wants to sit down with us and say how can we play a constructive role in addressing some of the challenges in NYCHA that are decades old, we would welcome that conversation, we would try to work together.”

De Blasio said his administration has recently committed $3.7 billion to NYCHA facility improvements and for day-to-day operations.

But city officials led by Councilman Robert Cornegy (D-Brooklyn), the Housing and Buildings Committee chairman, have taken the governor’s side on the issue, calling on the state to declare a state of emergency in terms of lead paint and other conditions at NYCHA facilities.

“The appalling state of disrepair in NYCHA buildings both in my district and across the city is a serious health and safety hazard for residents. Too many parents and children have been exposed to either moldy conditions or dangerous lead paint, while families have suffered in the cold this winter without heat and hot water,” Councilman Rory Lancman (D-Hillcrest) said.

Councilwoman Adrienne Adams (D-Jamaica) said NYCHA residents are paying rent to the city and in return are forced to live in subpar conditions.

“There are thousands of New Yorkers living in substandard NYCHA housing,” Adams said. “These residents are paying rent like every other tenant and they deserve to have heat and hot water. NYCHA buildings are in crisis and a more profound investment is needed. An immediate declaration of emergency is necessary to make these urgent repairs.”

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 Henry Euler

TimesLedger Newspapers

There are no words to express the horror and shock over the killings and injuries sustained by those at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Valentine’s Day. Wonderful people, most of them children, were victims of this act of terror. The lives of the families of the victims and the community at large are forever changed by this terrible event.

This is not the first time that such carnage has taken place. There were the church killings in Texas and South Carolina, the murders that took place at the theater in Aurora, Colo., the Las Vegas and Orlando massacres, and the many school killings at places like Virginia Tech, Columbine, and Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. The list of tragedies goes on and on.

There seems to be no end in sight. Many school districts are now conducting student drills on what to do and where to go should a shooter invade school grounds. Students and parents live in fear. This is America?

Most of these shootings follow a familiar pattern. A deranged person uses firearms, oftentimes assault-style semi-automatic weapons, which can kill and injure a large number of people in a short period of time. This type of weapon is for use by the military, not for everyday citizens and certainly not by people who have severe mental problems. These sick individuals often carry enormous supplies of ammunition at the time of their attacks as well.

After a tragedy, there follows a loud public outcry for steps to be taken to stop these heinous acts. Unfortunately, the powerful gun lobby in our country, which contributes large amounts of money to certain candidates for elected office, manages to derail any proposed common-sense gun safety measures.

Many politicians fear for their jobs because of the power and money represented by the gun lobby. In the 2016 election cycle, the National Rifle Association contributed $54 million to candidates for public office that supported their views, including over $30 million to President Trump. Do you think that these particular officials are going to buck the NRA in any meaningful way?

I admire and support the students who are standing up and are calling for strong measures to be taken in the wake of the tragedy that they have experienced. This includes advocating for sensible gun control measures, like enhanced background checks and the banning of bump stocks.

Yes, it is important as well to ensure that people who are severely mentally ill to the point where they want to harm and kill others get treatment for their disease. However, additional measures must be taken to ensure that these people have no access to any type of firearms. We must also adequately fund help for these troubled people and intervene as soon as we see signs of inappropriate and/or psychotic behavior. Don’t wait until it is too late!

In the 2018 election cycle, the issue of how to prevent future episodes of gun violence will be a crucial issue for Americans to consider. The media must continue to keep this issue front and center and not allow it to fade until another tragedy occurs.

Our elected officials, as well as new candidates for office, must be held accountable. It is time to vote against those politicians who are dragging their feet and not supporting common-sense solutions to this most serious national problem.

Henry Euler

Bayside

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