BRUCKNER DETOX
CENTER OPPOSED
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New owner:
I’m developing wellness center
A sense of concern and outrage
is brewing in Throggs
Neck about a possible conversion
of an offi ce building into
an unwanted use.
Commercial tenants at
2800 Bruckner Boulevard received
letters to vacate the
property, and community
leaders have formed a coalition
to fi ght a possible alcohol
Westchester Square reels over vagrants
ulder during a confrontation
Continued on Page 67
Continued on Page 67
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, D 12 ECEMBER 20-26, 2019 BTR
Kidnapping case under review
amid report teen staged crime
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BY ALEX MITCHELL
AMNEWYORK REPORTER
After a frantic
search, cops claimed
‘victory’ Tuesday in
locating a Bronx girl
reported as being kidnapped
on Monday
night — but doubts surfaced
in her story.
Several news outlets
reported that Karol Sanchez,
16, confessed to
staging her own kidnapping.
The NYPD, however,
could not immediately
confi rm whether
those reports were accurate,
pending information
still being obtained
in the investigation.
Sanchez was reportedly
found safe and in
good condition on Tuesday
afternoon. She was
reported abducted off
the south Bronx street
while walking with her
mother on the night of
Monday, December 16.
The case triggered
a widespread search
and national attention.
A mass Amber Alert
was issued at around
10:30 a.m. on cellphones
across the city, urging
the public to be on the
lookout for press reports
about the kidnapping.
City government
and the NYPD took the
case seriously. Federal
agents were brought in
to assist with the probe,
and the city’s Emergency
Management
Department tweeted a
photo of Sanchez with
vital information, relaying
information from
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While Bronxites prepared
to take a ‘bite out of crime’
at the annual August 1 Night
Out Against Crime, one crook
turned that around and took
a bite out of a local merchant
who tried to interrupt his
thievery.
A.M.A.F. Fashion business
owner Abdul Sol felt more
than an impact to his quality
of life on the morning of Sunday,
July 9, when a shoplifter
tried to leave his store with
a bag of clothing and Sol sufered
a severe bite on his left
rearm and a dislocated right
with the man.
At his 25 Westchester
Square store, Sol recalled how
the shoplifter had on previous
customer.
occasions
been a paying “He spent money here,
it’s not like I never saw him
before,” Sol said. “He came
around two or three months
ago and bought a pair of
shoes.”
But the Sunday of the assault,
the suspect asked for a
shopping bag, grabbed stuff,
and tried to leave, according
to Sol.
“I told him, ‘No, you can’t
take my stuff.’”
A fi ght ensued and Sol said
he “went to the ground with
him. I hurt my shoulder. He
took a big bite in my arm. I was
at the hospital until 6 o’clock. I
still have pain in my shoulder.
I still can’t lift my left arm.”
Sol said he had seen the
shoplifter associate with patients
from the Bronx Psychiatric
Center, so he fi gured he
was a client.
As Bronx Psychiatric Center,
on Waters Place, continues
to release its patients on
the street during the day, they
interact with homeless people
and drug rehab program.
Complaints have been
fi led with the city about beds
being moved into the building
or illegally converting it
into a residential building,
with some folks planning to
take legal action against the
landlord because they have
leases, according to multiple
sources.
Homeowners and renters
are also circulating petitions
to protest what appears to be
“a substance-abuse rehabilitation
program recruiting
staff” to work in the building
and lack of community notice
or engagement on what
may be sited at 2800 Bruckner
Boulevard.
“The community is defi -
nitely mobilized,” said Steven
Kaufman, an attorney who
is leading the Throggs Neck
Strong coalition looking into
the matter, adding “I believe
with mobilization, we might
be able to stop what they want
to do.”
Tenants in the building
say they got letters over the
last two weeks telling them
to vacate the building by
September, said Bobby Jaen,
Throggs Neck Merchants Association
president and coalition
member.
So far, at least 20 complaints
have been logged with
the NYC Department of Buildings,
including those concerning
“commercial space that is
being turned into residential
space” and those saying tenants
see “beds, dressers, mirrors
and chairs,” being moved
in.
As of press time, a meeting
of the Throggs Neck Strong
coalition has been planned
for the Crosstown Diner on
Thursday, August 3, with Jaen
expecting around 125 people,
following a lot of community
organizing and petitioning
that led to a forceful showing
at an earlier impromptu meeting
on Friday, July 28.
Anthony Mameli, Charles
Ruttenberg Realty’s Bronx
commercial real estate manager,
said the company was
planning a grand opening for
its new offi ce at the building
Bronx Times Reporter
Name:
Bayside, NY 11361
Police released image of
Karol Sanchez.
the NYPD that the girl
appeared to be in imminent
danger for severe
bodily harm or death.
Grainy video footage
that police obtained
showed the young
woman later identifi
ed as Sanchez being
grabbed off of Eagle Avenue
near East 156th
Street by two men at
about 11:20 p.m. The
men had emerged from
a four-door sedan that
pulled up alongside the
mother and daughter.
Two other men were
seen inside the vehicle
where Sanchez was
brought. The suspects
also knocked her 36-yearold
mother to the ground
and then sped off on East
156th Street.
As of press time
Tuesday night, the
NYPD had not yet released
specifi c information
about where Sanchez
were located, or
disclosed if any arrests
had been made.
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