COURIER L 18 IFE, APRIL 9-15, 2021
Staten Island man
arrested for Mill Basin
Wharf-related bribery
BY JESSICA PARKS
A Staten Island man
was arrested April 1 for
allegedly bribing an employee
of the city’s economy
boosting arm to fasttrack
his approval to lease
the Mill Basin Wharf.
In July 2020, Bachir
Bourabah reportedly offered
an employee of the
Economic Development
Corporation a boat and
space at his dock if the
city were to grant his lease
of the dock on a shorter
timetable than the typical
bidding process, which
can take months.
Since city employees
are prohibited from accepting
gifts, the EDC
employee immediately reported
the violation to the
city’s Department of Investigation
— but it wasn’t
the only time feds say
Bourabah took his shot.
After allegedly making
a second offer that July,
the 60-year-old defendant
phoned the EDC for the
third time in November,
but instead of an agency
rep, Bourabah allegedly
told an undercover city
investigator, “I’ll get you
The Mill Basin Wharf.
File photo by Steve Solomonson
a boat, and I’ll take you
fi shing, and I’ll … I’ll take
good care of you.”
Bourabah was arrested
on April 1, and is
facing one felony bribery
charge — punishable
by up to seven years in
prison — as well as three
misdemeanor counts,
each punishable by up to
one-year imprisonment.
“The defendant in
this case allegedly tried
to corrupt the process by
which City contracts are
awarded and we will now
seek to hold him accountable,”
said Brooklyn District
Attorney Eric Gonzalez,
whose offi ce is
prosecuting the case.
Bourabah set to appear
before the court on
May 3.
HATE CRIME
hate crime, since there
were no obvious markers
of prejudice. Following
the outcry, the NYPD
formed an Anti-Asian
Task Force that investigated
the incident and arrested
two 13-year-olds for
the crime.
More recently, southern
Brooklynites fought
back against the rise
in anti-Asian hate during
a March 21 rally in
response to the Atlanta
shootings that killed six
Asian-American women
on March 16. There, locals
spoke about the racism
they’ve faced since
the start of the COVID-19
outbreak.
“Just two months ago,
a bunch of kids walked by
laughing at me, saying,
‘Go back to China,’” said
Dr. Tim Law, the founder
of the Chinese-American
Social Services Center in
Bensonhurst. “It’s very
unfair to us … I have
been living in the neighborhood
for 50 years. My
son’s a doctor helping patients.
We are contributing
to the country.”
Dr. Law told rally-goers
that to fi ght this increase
in hate, locals must “come
together to fi ght back” —
a call Chen echoed during
her March 29 remarks.
Other than LaDelia, no
other bystanders stood up
for her, she said.
“It was wonderful
for someone who had
the power to assist actually
assisting. Because
there were other people
around and they sort of
just didn’t care,” said
Chen. “If you are witness
and you allow things to
happen, you are also an
accomplice in that assault.”
Additional reporting
by Arthur de Gaeta
Continued from page 10
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