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QC01022014

FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com january 2, 2014 • The Queens Courier 3 DOT hopes lane closure will help AVOID CALAMITY BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com A few weeks after the most recent accident off the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge, in which an off-duty NYPD officer died, the Department of Transportation (DOT) has implemented a change to increase safety for drivers and pedestrians. The DOT and NYPD have announced that the single lane of the Queens-bound outer roadway of the Queensboro Bridge will be closed each day to vehicular traffic from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. The change was implemented on Monday, December 30. All traffic capacity on Queensbound Following numerous accidents, including one early this month and two cars crashing into storefronts near the Ed Koch-Queensborough Bridge within nine days of each other in 2011, the Department of Transportation and NYPD announced the nighttime closure of the bridge’s single lane Queens-bound outer roadway. Parks employee arrested over alleged sex abuse BY LIAM LA GUERE lguerre@queenscourier.com A Woodhaven resident and longtime Parks Department employee was arrested last week and charged with three counts of sexual abuse of an underaged family member stemming from alleged actions five years ago. Rene Herrera, 57, who oversees such green spaces as Juniper Valley Park, allegedly sexually abused an 11-year-old female relative on three separate occasions in 2008, cops said. The mother of the girl, who is now 16, reported the incidents to the police on Saturday, December 28. Herrera has worked with the Parks Department for about 25 years, according to the Juniper Park Civic Association (JPCA), and became a regional manager in 2002. He is married and has three children. People that worked with Herrera said that he is a good person. “I’ve worked with him on many projects. I’ve known him for a long time, he’s a team player,” said Simcha Waisman, vice president of the Richmond Hill Block Association. “Not reporting the incidents From 2008 to now? Something is wrong with that.” And Herrera has been very helpful Woodhaven resident and long-time Parks Department employee Rene Herrera was arrested and charged with three counts of sexual abuse of an 11-year-old girl. in managing the parks in his districts, according to JPCA. “He has been efficient and responsive to any issues we may have, always attempting to solve any problems that are reported to him,” said Lorraine Sciulli of JPCA. “He is readily available by phone if we have the need to get in touch with him quickly. He has always been cooperative and helpful to the JPCA.” Herrera has been suspended without pay, according to a Parks Department spokesperson. THE COURIER/FILE PHOTO NEW QUESTIONS IN SEARCH FOR AVONTE BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO aaltamirano@queenscourier.com It has been almost four months since Avonte Oquendo disappeared and new information about the day the autistic teen went missing has surfaced, leaving larger question marks, according to the boy’s family attorney. Avonte was last seen at the Center Boulevard School at 1-50 51st Avenue in Long Island City around 12:38 p.m. on Friday, October 4. There have been conflicting reports on how the Rego Park teen, who cannot verbally communicate and is supposed to be supervised at all times, managed to leave the school. According to a Department of Education occurrence report obtained by David Perecman, an attorney for Avonte’s family, a timeline shows what happened before, during and after the boy went missing. The 14-year-old boy was part of a class with three people watching the group. The number of children in the class is still unknown, according to the report. The group entered the stairwell on the fifth floor and then exited on the second floor, but in the middle of the descent Avonte got away from the group and made his way to the first floor. The boy is then seen on surveillance cameras walking by the security desk twice before leaving through the side door, on Center Boulevard, which had been left opened, according to the report. A few minutes later, a school safety agent closed the door. According to the report, the boy’s teachers did not notice him missing until 12:40 p.m. and did not notify the assistant principal until 12:56 p.m. She then went to the safety agent at the main desk who told her she had not seen Avonte leave the school, but instead emphasized that she had seen the boy go up the stairs. Perecman said the safety agent’s story does not match the surveillance tape that shows the boy leaving the school. He also said the agent initially told Avonte’s grandmother she had not stopped the boy from leaving the school because she didn’t know he was disabled. “It’s really very distressing to think these are the people watching over your children,” said Perecman. “This place is dysfunctional. These kids should be watching the teachers.” The timeline report also shows the school administration did not know Avonte had left the building until almost two hours later because they did not have the security codes needed to access the surveillance tapes, according to Perecman. Perecman also said a lockdown was not put into effect until 2 p.m. because the assistant principal’s initial request for a “soft lockdown” was denied to make sure they did not “upset other students.” The Department of Education did not respond for comment as of press time. inner and upper roadway lanes will not be affected. “This upgrade to the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge is just the latest step we’ve taken to keep the more than 180,000 daily drivers crossing safely on one of the city’s most iconic bridges,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan. The daily closure and reopening of the outer roadway lane will be organized by NYPD traffic officers who are already stationed at the bridge to manage the weekday reversal of the two upper roadway Queensbound lanes. The closure comes after the DOT conducted a review of current safety measures, traffic volumes and travel speed following the death of 10-year NYPD veteran Elisa Toro, 36, on December 10. Toro was heading off the bridge’s exit ramp around 1:50 a.m., when she struck a guardrail, then a cement barrier, said police. The car then flipped onto its passenger side, hitting a vacant storefront on Queens Plaza South at Crescent Street. Toro, a Bronx resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else was injured in the accident, said police. “I applaud the DOT for finally giving this dangerous stretch of road the attention it deserves,” said State Senator Michael Gianaris, who asked the DOT to improve traffic safety in the area and redesign the bridge’s exit ramp after a series of accidents in 2011. “Hopefully, the nighttime closure of the Queens-bound outer roadway will provide the time for a proper evaluation of the street design coming off the Queensboro Bridge exit ramp so we can eventually solve this problem once and for all.” According to the DOT, the outer-roadway closure comes after traffic measures were installed near the Queens Plaza South exit ramp in 2011. These include three 20 mph messages, “shark teeth” markings on the road, 14 yellow and 12 white 36” X 8” aluminumbacked reflectors, four sets of rumble strips warning drivers they are approaching a reduced speed zone, and much more. Throughout the day, the agency plans to continue monitoring traffic volume, safety measures and driving conditions on the bridge.


QC01022014
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