22 The QUEE NS Courier • FEBRUARY 14, 2013 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Quinn’s focus is middle class in State of the City BY TERENCE M. CULLEN the working middle class be able to stay and prosper in tcullen@queenscourier.com the city — and will do so through a number of current and future programs. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, in her final “Our top priority must be to keep our middle class State of the City address, promised it would become here, attract new middle class families, and give every more affordable to live and work in New York in the New Yorker the opportunity to enter the middle class,” years to come. she said. “Simply put, we face an affordability crisis in Quinn, who will be term limited out of the Council our city and it cuts right at the fabric of New York. We at the end of this year, is a heavy favorite on the need to make sure that the people who want to stay in Democratic side as a mayoral candidate. our great city can afford to stay here.” “Every day, as I travel the five boroughs, I talk to On a related note, Quinn announced an incentive for people with those same hopes for the future, with the residential building owners to convert a certain number same incredible work ethic, and the same belief that of units into affordable housing. In return, the city will there is no better place to be than New York City,” cap property taxes on the building based on rental intake. Quinn said. “I’m incredibly proud that in the last seven “It’s a win for them, a win for middle class renters, years, this City Council has built a record, not of words and a win for the city,” Quinn said. “This is how we and criticisms, but of actions and results.” retain economic diversity in neighborhoods that have In her hour-plus speech, Quinn promised to ensure become harder to reach for the middle class.” Giants Diehl guilty of DUI BY TONIA N. CIMINO tcimino@queenscourier.com This was definitely not in the playbook. New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl, who crashed his vehicle in Astoria in June 2012, has pleaded guilty to operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol. Diehl will be under court supervision for six months and must complete other court-imposed requirements prior to sentencing. “Queens has a strict and very successful alternative sentencing program that emphasizes treatment and supervision of DUI offenders in order to prevent reoccurrences of unacceptable conduct,” said District Attorney Richard A. Brown. “However, if the defendant, who is a first-time offender, fails to comply with all the requirements imposed by the Court, then we will seek more severe sanctions.” According to the charges, Diehl was observed at approximately 8:20 p.m. on June 10, 2012, in the vicinity of 31-31 35th Street in Astoria, by a police officer from the 114th Precinct responding to the scene of a motor vehicle accident involving a 2011 BMW and two parked vehicles. Diehl was observed by the officer to have a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and to be unsteady on his feet. Diehl admitted to police that he had been driving the BMW, which had damage on its front right side. An intoxilyzer test showed a blood alcohol content reading of .182 percent – which is more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent in New York. Diehl, 32, of New Jersey, was released on his own recognizance at the time of his arrest. He pleaded guilty this week to one count of aggravated driving while under the influence and one count of driving while impaired. The plea is conditioned on Diehl continuing in the NFL substance abuse treatment program, that he wear a SCRAM (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor) bracelet for 90 days, pay up to $1,200 in restitution to the owners of the two vehicles he damaged, participate in a Victim Impact Panel (an awareness program for first-time DWI offenders in which they hear from victims whose lives have been impacted by a drunk driver), and not drive or apply for a driver’s license until sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. Diehl is scheduled for the first of three compliance conferences on April 19, with the other two occurring at two-month intervals. After six months, if he has successfully complied with the sanctions and conditions imposed, then the aggravated DWI charge will be dismissed and he will be sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge on the driving while impaired charge. HUNTLEY PLEADS GUILTY BY MAGIE HAYES mhayes@queenscourier.com Former State Senator Shirley Huntley has pleaded guilty to covering up $30,000 in taxpayer-funded services that were never performed. Huntley, 74, was arrested after turning herself in last August. She was charged with two felonies and a misdemeanor for drafting a fake letter to show that a sham nonprofit group, the Parents Information Network, used a $30,000 state grant for “workshops,” according to the Attorney General’s office. She pleaded not guilty, but nearly six months later, on Wednesday, February 13, Huntley came clean. Funds provided to the Parent Workshop were said to be going to programs at the Beacon Center, but instead were funneled straight to the phony group’s president and treasurer, and Huntley reportedly got a cut. In her allocution, Huntley said she assisted in drafting a letter to be used to create a false record, indicating that events on behalf of the Parent Workshop had taken place. She additionally knew that the false record would be submitted to the Attorney General’s investigation, according to public court records. “State officials must be held to the highest standards,” said Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. “Former Senator Huntley betrayed the trust of her constituents and her public duty.” Prosecutors in the case recommended a sentence of five years probation for the former pol in exchange for her felony guilty plea. Theft and obstruction charges are still pending against her co-defendants, including Patricia Savage, the president of Parent Workshop and her former aide, and Lynn Smith, treasurer of the group and Huntley’s niece. Sally Butler, Huntley’s attorney, did not wish to comment on the plea, nor did family. THE COURIER/PHOTO BY ALEXA ALTMAN Governor Cuomo gave his budget address at LaGuardia Community College. CUOMO SEES ‘NY RISING’ Budget outline includes upping minimum wage BY ALEXA ALTMAN aaltman@queenscourier.com In his budget outline for the coming year, Governor Andrew Cuomo focused on job creation and improving education, promising to improve the lives of New Yorkers across the state. In addition to jobs and education, Cuomo’s proposal, NY Rising, addresses fiscal integrity and discipline and restoring the state as a progressive beacon. Cuomo proposed an initiative that partners small start-ups with the state in order to retain companies and growth in New York. This included forgoing raising and adding supplementary taxes for businesses. According to the governor, New York has the lowest middle class tax rate in 58 years. Cuomo added he will be increasing minimum wage to $8.75. Regarding education, Cuomo stated the inequities between schools for wealthy and impoverished students cause devastating discrepancies. The newly proposed budget includes a boost of $889 million, one of the largest increases in educational aid in years. Other important issues touched upon were the decriminalization of the possession of small amounts of marijuana and a women’s equality act, both of which he hopes will be introduced in the coming year. Throughout his address, Cuomo continued to remind the crowd that New York will continue to be a progressive and innovative state. “This state is not just another state. This state is New York,” said Cuomo. “And when New York acts, the nation follows. And this state has had a great history of being the progressive capital, of doing things first, figuring out problems first, and we led the way.”
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