4 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 3, 2022 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Flushing prepares for return of Lunar New Year parade
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Aft er a hiatus due to the COVID-19
pandemic, Flushing’s joyous Lunar New
Year parade is set to return on Saturday,
Feb. 5.
The Flushing Chinese Business
Association (FCBA) and other members
Jury convicts Rego Park man in stabbing death of pregnant girlfriend: DA
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A Rego Park man could spend the
rest of his life behind bars aft er a jury
found him guilty of killing his pregnant
girlfriend, according to Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz.
Anthony Hobson, 51, was convicted
Tuesday, Jan. 25, aft er a jury trial of murder
and other crimes in the February 2019
knife attack on his girlfriend, Jennifer
Irigoyen, in Ridgewood.
Th e jury found Hobson, of 64th Avenue
in Rego Park, guilty of murder, tampering
with evidence and criminal possession of
a weapon following a two-week-long trial.
Queens Supreme court Justice Michael B.
Aloise, who presided at the trial, set sentencing
for Feb. 17.
Hobson faces up to 25 years to life in
prison, with additional possible time
for the tampering with evidence conviction.
According to trial testimony, on Feb.
9, 2019, at around 1 a.m., on the third
fl oor of a residential building on Myrtle
Avenue, a neighbor heard the victim
screaming, “Help! Help! He’s trying to kill
the baby!”
Th e neighbor ran into the hallway and
saw the defendant dragging Irigoyen, a
35-year-old real estate agent, into the
stairwell. Th e witness saw Hobson —
using what appeared to be a kitchen steak
knife — repeatedly stab the victim.
Katz said Irigoyen suff ered puncture
wounds to her neck, chest and abdomen,
along with numerous other injuries.
Offi cers from the 104th Precinct
and EMS units responded to the scene.
Paramedics rushed Irigoyen to Wyckoff
Heights Medical Center, where she and
her unborn child were later pronounced
dead.
Hobson left the scene with the murder
weapon, which was never recovered.
He fl ed to Pennsylvania but turned himself
in to law enforcement fi ve days aft er
the murder.
“Th e defendant has been convicted and
held responsible for taking the life of a
woman, who was the mother of a young
son and was also approximately 12 weeks
pregnant,” Katz said. Th e defendant now
faces a lengthy prison sentence from the
court.”
of the 2022 Lunar New Year Parade
Committee hosted its fi nal press conference
for the Lunar New Year parade at
the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel on
Th ursday, Jan. 27. Th ey were joined by several
local elected offi cials including state
Senator Toby Ann Stavisky and Queens
Borough President Donovan Richards, as
well as 109th Precinct’s Deputy Inspector
John O’Connell.
O’Connell went over expected road closures,
which will begin at 8:30 a.m. on
Feb. 5. Union Street, between Northern
Boulevard and Roosevelt Avenue, will
be closed as it will be the staging area for
parade fl oats.
Th e rest of the route — Sanford Avenue
between Union Street and Main Street;
Main Street between Sanford Avenue and
Northern Boulevard; Roosevelt Avenue
between Prince Street and Bowne Street;
39th Avenue between Main Street and
Union Street; 38th Avenue between 138th
Street and Main Street; and 37th Avenue
between Main Street and Bowne Street
— will close at 10:30 a.m. that Saturday
before the parade begins at 11 a.m.
Community organizations and cultural
groups will march from 37th Avenue
down Union Street, along Sanford Avenue,
and fi nish the parade on Main Street and
38th Avenue in downtown Flushing.
Buses will be rerouted during the
parade, with temporary bus stops on
Bowne Street between Roosevelt and
Barclay Avenues, according to O’Connell.
O’Connell said there will be about 150
police offi cers on site during the parade.
“We are looking forward to this exciting
day,” O’Connell said. “Th ese are the
things we do look forward to as a police
department.”
Th e Flushing Lunar New Year parade,
which will celebrate the Year of the Tiger,
marks the return of the annual tradition
since the onset of the COVID-19
pandemic in 2020.
Stavisky said the event will be a way
to “celebrate together in person, but
carefully.”
“I have been to many of the Lunar New
Year parades. I don’t think I’ve missed any
since I’ve been elected,” Stavisky said. “I
look forward to continuing the tradition
of coming together, working together and
having fun together.”
Richards noted this year’s celebrations
will be special, as the Flushing community
has seen diff erent kinds of adversities during
the ongoing pandemic.
“One we’ve seen a pandemic of great
magnitude impact our community, but
then we dealt with a second wave of a
pandemic, and that is the pandemic of
hate,” Richards said. “We will never stand
for Asian hate. We will stand up against
Asian hate. And that is why this year, in
the Year of the Tiger, we’ll be talking about
bravery and strength, something that this
community exuberated time in and time
out again.”
Th e Greater Flushing Chamber of
Commerce and St. George’s Church will
be hosting a Pre-Parade Lunar New Year
Reception on Saturday, Feb. 5. Th e chamber
welcomes everyone wishing to join
the festivities by warming up with hot coffee
and refreshments before marching in
the parade.
Th e free reception will be held at St.
George’s Church, located at 135-32 38th
Ave. in Flushing, from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m.
For more information and to register in
advance, visit lunar2022.eventbrite.com.
Th e parade is organized by a coalition
of community groups led by the FCBA
and the Korean American Association of
Queens.
“2022 looks to be a year full of big
changes, risk-taking and adventure as the
Tiger is known for its strength, ambition,
courage, generosity, self-confi dence, sense
of justice and a commitment to help others
for the greater good,” said Taehoon
Kim, president of the Greater Flushing
Chamber of Commerce. “We’re fi nding
enthusiasm again, both for ourselves and
for others. Everyone is fi red up; generosity
is at an all-time high; and social progress
feels possible again.”
Th e chamber noted the Lunar New
Year is traditionally the most important
shopping season in Flushing, with many
mom-and-pop stores, restaurants and
local business relying on the celebration
to boost sales and generate revenue to
survive another year.
“Flushing is back!” said John Choe,
executive director of the Greater Flushing
Chamber of Commerce. “Th e Year of the
Tiger will symbolize the strength, resilience,
and rebirth of our community as
we emerge from the ravages of COVID-
19 and an epidemic of anti-Asian violence.”
Additional reporting by Paul Frangipane.
File photo by Robert Stridiron
Rego Park resident Anthony Hobson was convicted Jan. 25 of killing his pregnant girlfriend in
Ridgewood in 2019.
Photo by Paul Frangipane
Deputy Inspector John O’Connell speaks at a press conference on Thursday, Jan. 27, sharing the
details of this year’s Flushing Lunar New Year Parade.
/lunar2022.eventbrite.com
link
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
