Queens Borough President Donovan Richards issues his approval of the Arverne East project in
Rockaway. Courtesy Triangle Equities
TIMESLEDGER | Q 2 NS.COM | JAN. 15-JAN. 21, 2021
BY JACOB KAYE
The 22-year-old man who
allegedly planted a fake bomb
inside a car at the Queens
Place Mall in Elmhurst earlier
this week was charged
with making terroristic
threats and additional felony
charges on Wednesday, Jan.
6, according to Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz.
In addition to the terroristic
threats charge, Louis
Shenker, of Amherst, Mass.,
faces charges of placing a fake
bomb in an enclosed shopping
mall, Katz said. Queens
Criminal Court Judge Karen
Gopee ordered Shenker to be
held without bail on Wednesday.
If convicted of the charges,
Shenker faces up to seven
years in prison.
The alleged bomb hoax
caused an evacuation of
Queens Place Mall on Monday,
Jan. 4, and garnered
response from the NYPD’s
bomb squad, who eventually
deemed the device a hoax.
Around 4:50 a.m., on Jan.
4, an NYPD officer came
across Shenker and an unapprehened
person standing
next to a black Tesla Model S
with Nevada plates parked on
the Queens Place Mall’s parking
garage ramp, according
to the charges.
Shenker allegedly told the
officer that the car had stalled
and they were attempting to
recharge the electric vehicle,
which had blankets, clothing,
a dog, a Black Lives Matter
sign and other various items
inside, according to the DA.
Hours later, around 7:35
a.m., a Queens Place Mall
employee saw the car, which
by then had protruding wires
connecting to a gas tank, the
charges state.
After an investigation by
the NYPD, the device was
deemed a hoax, designed to
appear to be a bomb.
Shenker turned himself
into a Brooklyn precinct on
Tuesday, Jan. 5, around 3
a.m., according to law enforcement
officials.
Social media posts allegedly
authored by Shenker,
appear to express right-wing
conspiracy sentiments, echoing
the recent Christmas Day
Nashville bombing, allegedly
carried out by Anthony Warner,
who is believed to have
espoused similar sentiments.
An Instagram account
believed to belong to Shenker
uses the “StopTheSteal”
hashtag in its bio, a hashtag
championed by supporters
of President Donald Trump
– and the president, himself
– who falsely believe
Trump won the November
presidential election.
BY BILL PARRY
Calling the project
“transformational on so
many levels,” Queens Borough
President Donovan
Richards recommended approval
of the Arverne East
development proposal with
conditions to ensure it is a
true community-first initiative
that brings housing, economic,
cultural investment
and local hiring to a section
of the borough that “has long
deserved it.”
The development would
bring more than 1,500 units
of housing, community, retail
and restaurant space and
a nature preserve to 81 acres
of city-owned land that has
been vacant and dilapidated
for more than 40 years. The
proposal, from L&M Development
Partners, Triangle
Equities and the Bluestone
Organization, would develop
the underutilized beachfront
property stretching from
Beach 32nd Street to Beach
59th Street.
“This project is very dear
to me having lived in the
Ocean Village apartments
growing up right across the
street,” Richards said. “Every
morning I woke up to the
blight. This project has been
in the works since the early
1970s and now more than ever
it will be critical as we work
our way out of the COVID-19
pandemic and create a pathway
for upward mobility in
this community.”
Richards added that the
Arverne East project would
bring “an economic justice”
solution in the Rockaways,
which have seen far more
development in the western
portion of the peninsula in
recent years.
“It really is a tale of two
Rockaways and the disparities
are very clear from east
to west,” he said. “The eastern
end has the highest unemployment
rate in the borough.
It was ravaged by the
high COVID rate. There are
no supermarkets and a lack
of healthcare options and affordable
housing. This project
will help us build it back
better coming out of the pandemic.”
In stating his approval,
Richards added an extended
list of recommendations in
part to placate Community
Board 14 members who disapproved
of the application
by a vote of 26-1 in November.
They include commitments
for local hiring for all construction
and non-construction
workers and a 30 percent
goal for MWBE businesses
and firms; a new city Health
and Hospitals Corporation
facility; children and senior
care services; new schools in
the area; a new community
center; improved transportation
options; and street
widening.
Richards is also recommending
improved access to
the beach from Beach 32nd
to Beach 59th Street with
staffing and lifeguards “for
the underserved east end of
Rockaway Beach” as well as
new concession opportunities
on the boardwalk created
with a focus on local
providers of food and beverages,
clothing, accessories
or other goods “that reflect
the culture” of Rockaway.
“These businesses are
necessary to attract and cater
to a growing number of visitors
to the beach and area in
general,” Richards wrote in
his recommendations. “Such
concession opportunities
would also help the economy
of the Rockaways while creating
much-needed jobs.”
Richards also called for a
Community Advisory Board
with representatives from
Community Board 14, local
community and civic organizations,
relevant government
agencies and elected officials
to meet with the development
team on a quarterly
basis for the duration of the
project.
State Senator Joseph Addabbo
and Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheffer Amato called
for a new Environmental
Impact Statement to be conducted
for the Arverne East
development, saying the current
one was conducted in
the early 2000s and did not
account for numerous factors
including major weather
events, the COVID-19
pandemic and demographic
trends that have changed
over time.
“Look, I love and respect
my colleagues in government
and we share the same
goals but the only thing that
has really changed over time
is the population growth,”
Richards said. “Leadership
includes the ability to make
decisions even when they
may be unpopular. I don’t
need another study to tell me
about what we need. When
opportunity knocks you
don’t turn it away or the area
will be blighted for another
40 years.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Police officers and FDNY units along Queens Boulevard in
Elmhurst, Queens on Jan. 4, 2021. Photo by Dean Moses
Man allegedly behind
bomb hoax in mall
garage arraigned in
Queens Criminal Court
Boro president gives Arverne
East project the green light
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