6 The QUEE NS Courier • january 1, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com COMMUNITY DEMANDS IMPROVEMENTS AT ELMHURST LIRR OVERPASS The pedestrian bridge, shown from the dead end of 55th Avenue by Haspel Street, needs cleaning up, according to the Elmhurst community. BUY DIRECT FROM THE MANUFACTURER FREE Measuring & Installation w/purchase of $100. with this ad. • Draperies • Vertical Blinds • Honeycomb Shades • Custom Window Shades • Mini Blinds Nobody Beats Our Prices! • Roman Shades • Balloon Shades • Swags & Jabots • Shutters • Upholstery • Radiator Covers • Table Pads UP TO 70% OFF LIST PRICE Free Interior Design Consultation $20 OFF with purchase of $200 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 1/9/15 $50 OFF with purchase of $500 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 1/9/15 $100 OFF with purchase of $1,000 or more *Not to be combined w/other offers. Expires 1/9/15 GOMER’S Window Treatments SINCE 1962 FREE SHOP AT HOME SERVICE SERVING QUEENS AND LONG ISLAND 1.800.522.6156 www.gomersdecorators.com THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano JOHN J. CIAFONE, Esq. Attorney & Counselor at Law Your Partner In The Struggle For Justice ON THE LAW with John J. Ciafone Esq. Q. My daughter drove her boyfriend to the grocery store. Later that evening, the police came to our house and arrested her saying she was involved in a robbery committed at the store. Apparently, the boyfriend held up the cashier and took cigarettes and money while my daughter was outside waiting for him in the car. She did not know what he did until the police arrested her and charged her with robbery. How can she be charged when she was in the car and not the store and it was her boyfriend who robbed the store? A. Under the criminal penal law, your daughter, whether she knew of the crime committed or not will be charged with accomplice and conspiracy to the underlying robbery charge. Her role in waiting in the vehicle and transporting the criminal perpetrator will be equal in degree as the boyfriend who committed the heinous crime. The District Attorney will charge her with felony intent of aiding and abetting the boyfriend in committing the crime. Unfortunately, any pleadings of innocence or no knowledge of the crime by your daughter will be given to deaf ears by the prosecution. Even a statement by the boyfriend that she was not apprised of the criminal plot will be no real defense to your daughter. The real lesson here is to be careful of who you chose to be friends with. • Personal Injury/ Accidents • Workers’ Compensation • Wills/Estates • Criminal • Medical Malpractice* • Real Estate • Commer./Corp./ Business • Matrimonial/ Divorce • Bankruptcy • Elder Law • Trial Lawyer Serving the needs of our community 24 Hours/7 Days 25-59 Steinway St., Suite 2F, Astoria, NY 11103 718-278-3900 *FREE CONSULTATION AT HOME, HOSPITAL OR WORK BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com/@aaltamirano28 Elmhurst residents and their elected officials are demanding that the city clean and maintain a pedestrian bridge above Long Island Rail Road tracks that they say is deteriorating, dirty and often dangerous. Local elected officials and community leaders gathered earlier in December to tour the pedestrian bridge that connects two separate sections of 55th Avenue, one of which turns onto 85th Street and the other that becomes a dead end near Haspel Street. The group toured the overpass with Long Island Rail Road and Sanitation officials to discuss the conditions and demand immediate improvements be made at the site. According to Christian Cassagnol, district manager of Community Board 4, the problems most residents have voiced concerns about include graffiti, lack of sufficient lighting, safety overnight and dirty conditions. Residents and members of CB 4’s environmental committee regularly gather to clean up the site, Cassagnol said, but there is only so much that could be done on a local level. He decided to contact Councilman Daniel Dromm’s office in the hopes of finding a better solution. Rosemarie Daraio, president of the nonprofit Communities of Maspeth & Elmhurst Together Inc. (COMET) Civic Association, added that some other issues include illegal dumping, weeds overtaking the site, and deteriorating and uneven steps. Days before the Dec. 15 walk-through, the city’s Department of Sanitation showed up and did a cleanup. “This site must be cleaned and made safe for pedestrians,” said Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, who was part of the group that toured the overpass. “There is no substitute for an on-site visit to see conditions firsthand.” According to Stavisky, she and Dromm will continue to monitor the issue. “Quality-of-life issues are vitally important to the growth, strength and happiness of the community,” Dromm said. Cassagnol plans to work with local leaders on trying to implement the Greenstreets program at the site, also known as the Green Infrastructure Program, which works to transform areas into green spaces. “It’s an issue we are going to have to constantly monitor,” Daraio said.
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