L E H A V R E N E W S JANUARY/FEBRUARY 8 Cops respond to crime spike THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan The 109th Precinct awarded the Chung Fat Supermarket for aiding in the arrest of a pickpocket with an extensive criminal history. de Blasio presents plans for UPK BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA Mayor Bill de Blasio headed to Albany this week to garner support for his plan to provide free full-day pre-kindergarten for every four-year-old in the city by increasing taxes on the wealthy. He released an interagency report on Monday, January 27 detailing his proposal for prekindergarten expansion, the same day he gave testimony at the state capital on the plan. “The reality is that today, fewer than 27 percent of four-year-olds in New York City have access to full-day pre-K,” the mayor said. To authorize the tax hikes, he will need permission from Albany lawmakers. Specifically, he is asking for an income tax surcharge, which would increase the current 3.9 percent rate to a 4.4 percent rate, on those with annual incomes of a half-million dollars or more over the next five years. It would also allow for the expansion of middle school extended learning programs, de Blasio said. At an average cost of $10,239 per child, under the plan, 73,250 children would be eligible for full-day pre-kindergarten by the 2015-2016 school year, beginning with 53,604 in September, 2014. The total cost is estimated at $340 million annually, and would require approximately 2,000 new classrooms in public schools and communitybased settings across the city. 8 LEHAVRE COURIER | JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2014 | WWW.QUEENSCOURIER.COM Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed a statewide plan for universal, full-day pre-kindergarten in his budget address last week, with an estimated cost of $1.5 billion over the next five years. The state would fully fund the program. “That’s an idea we strongly endorse and we appreciate his leadership on this issue,” de Blasio said. But he said the funding must be “predictable and consistent,” and isolated from the state budget. “Universal pre-K and after-school programs must have a dedicated funding stream, a locked box, shielded from what we all know is the inevitable give and take of the budgeting process,” the mayor said. BY MELISSA CHAN Police are beefing up efforts to protect downtown Flushing shoppers from pickpockets ahead of the Lunar New Year, as grand larcenies have more than doubled since last year. “We will be taking extra precaution, with the community carrying lots of money,” said Inspector Brian Maguire, commanding officer of the 109th Precinct. A command post vehicle will be stationed outside the Flushing branch of the Queens Library over the weekend, at the start of new year celebrations, Maguire said. The precinct has also amped up awareness initiatives, holding a crime prevention seminar on January 28 for local business owners. Officers played surveillance footage of pickpockets to show how fast the crime can occur when property is unattended or victims are unaware. “In the blink of an eye, your bag is gone,” said Captain Tommy Ng, the precinct’s executive officer. Last year, the precinct saw a 53 percent increase in grand larcenies from 2012, Maguire said. The crime, which includes credit card fraud, phone thefts and shoplifting, is still rising. Grand larcenies in the precinct have spiked more than 56 percent so far since last year, jumping from 48 to 75 incidents in the first three weeks of January, an NYPD spokesperson said. Maguire said a partnership between the NYPD and local businesses could whittle down rising numbers. Officials from the Chung Fat Supermarket on Main Street recently helped officers arrest a pickpocket with an extensive criminal history, he said. “I truly believe that working together, we can achieve great things,” Maguire said. “We will make Flushing safer, trust me. We all should have this as a common goal.” Ng warned diners not to hang their purses over chairs at restaurants or bars. He also told store owners to be wary of people who reappear multiple times without making a purchase. “That should raise a flag immediately,” Ng said. “He is not your customer. He is in your store to commit a crime.”
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