4 The QUENS Courier • FEBRUARY 26, 2015 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com THE COURIER/Photo by Angy Altamirano A man was arrested following a bomb scare at this 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd. office building. Bomb scare at DA office building in Kew Gardens BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected]/@robbpoz A 49-year-old man was arrested on the morning of Feb. 24 following a bomb scare at a Kew Gardens office building, authorities said. Law enforcement sources identified him as Scott Sansonkin, a former resident of Woodhaven Boulevard in Glendale, who was taken into custody without further incident and found not to have a bomb in his possession. Reportedly, he was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The scare reportedly occurred at about 11 a.m. at 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd. near Union Turnpike, a 12-story office building that includes the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Squad, an FBI satellite office and the Kew Gardens Community Center. According to police, Sansonkin walked into the lobby carrying a bag and allegedly announced he had a bomb. During a subsequent investigation, police reportedly determined the bag contained an inert device made to resemble an explosive. Officers from the 102nd Precinct, the NYPD Bomb Squad and other NYPD units responded to the location, and all individuals inside the building were safely evacuated. District Attorney Richard Brown was not at the location at the time of the bomb scare. Sources familiar with the investigation said Sansonkin previously pulled a bomb scare at the same location in November 2008; he was subsequently prosecuted on federal charges and served a prison sentence. Sansonkin was charged on Feb. 24 with falsely reporting an incident, possessing a false bomb or hazardous substance and second-degree harassment. Other charges are pending the results of an investigation. Pols continue push for law change after another Queens hit-and-run BY CRISTABELLE TUMOLA AND ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @QueensCourier Local elected officials are hoping a change in the law will prevent unlicensed drivers from getting behind the wheel of a vehicle and avoid yet another death. In response to a fatal hit-and-run in Elmhurst that took the life of a 26-year-old woman, state Senator Michael Gianaris gathered with local officials and advocacy groups on the morning of Feb. 24 at the site of the crash to reintroduce legislation he put forth more than a year ago. The change in law would make it a felony if drivers with suspended licenses either seriously injure or kill someone with their vehicle. The proposal, included in Mayor Bill de Blasio’s Vision Zero agenda, would also include immediate impoundment of a vehicle involved in such accidents. “Unfortunately we’re here for something that should have been done a while ago but has yet to be done,” Gianaris said. “We’re now for the third time in little over a year in western Queens alone dealing with an incident where someone who did not have a proper license to drive has hit and killed someone.” According to the NYPD, the victim was struck at about 10:40 p.m. on Feb. 22 at the intersection of 76th Street and Woodside Avenue as she attempted to cross the intersection. A Mitsubishi box truck was traveling southbound on 76th Street and was making a left turn onto Woodside Avenue when it hit the woman, who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver fled after striking the woman, but an eyewitness reportedly chased down the truck. The driver, 27-year-old Valentine Gonzalez, was nabbed just blocks away, at 73rd Street and 41st Avenue, and taken into custody, cops said. Under the current law, Gonzalez has been charged with leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death and driving without a license. “After yet another hit-and-run by an unlicensed driver, it’s time that New Yorkers stood up and said that enough is enough,” Assemblyman Francisco Moya said. “Current laws are not tough enough if reckless drivers, like Valentine Gonzalez, are still able to drive on our streets. How many more fatalities will there be before we say the laws must be changed?” The proposed bill, which is co-sponsored by state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, was initially introduced following the 2013 fatal accident in Woodside where 8-year-old Noshat Nahian was struck on his way to school at P.S. 152. “It’s time for the punishment to fit the crime. If you get behind the wheel when you’re not authorized to do so and you kill somebody or you injure somebody you should go to jail. That way we will keep it from happening again in the future,” Gianaris said.
QC02262015
To see the actual publication please follow the link above