4 The QUEE NS Courier • MARCH 3, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com First Cheesecake Factory in NYC is coming to Elmhurst in winter 2016 By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua The Cheesecake Factory, the restaurant that claims to have “something for everyone,” will open its first New York City location at Elmhurst’s Queens Center mall. The restaurant is planned for a consolidated space once occupied by The Children’s Place and a Verizon Wireless store, according to Community Board 4 District Manager Christian Cassagnol. A Cheesecake Factory representative from the establishment will appear before the board at the next CB 4 meeting on March 8 in Corona to reveal plans. Cassagnol estimated that the restaurant will have seats for 180 patrons inside and an additional 48 seats at an outdoor cafe, but a spokesperson for the restaurant could not confirm those numbers. Alethea Rowe, senior director of public relations for The Cheesecake Factory, said the restaurant is anticipating a winter opening but did not give a specific month or date. This will be the first New York City location for the cheesecake bakery-turned-restaurant. The closest Cheesecake Factory is located at Roosevelt Field Mall in Westbury, Long Island. The restaurant’s origins date back to the 1940s when Evelyn and Oscar Overton opened a cheesecake shop in Detroit, Michigan. Though the shop eventually closed, the Overtons eventually moved to Los Angeles to open The Cheesecake Factory Bakery, where Evelyn Overton baked more than 20 varieties of cheesecakes and other desserts. In 1978, the couple opened the first Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills, California, and it now boasts nearly 200 locations nationwide. City shut down the pools at Spa Castle in College Point after a girl nearly drowned there By Alina Suriel asuriel@qns.com/@alinangelica All pools at the Spa Castle luxury complex in College Point have been closed following an investigation into the recent near-drowning of a 6-year-old girl, according to the New York City Health Department. The closure was the result of a special probe of the facility’s safety features after the incident, a Health Department representative told QNS. The girl was pulled under the water and unable to reach the surface after her hair got stuck in a pool vent. “The Health Department has ordered the closure of all pools at Spa Castle in Queens after an ongoing investigation found the facility was not following safety standards,” the department said in a released statement. “The facility’s pools will remain closed until a revised safety plan has been put into place, and the Health Department is satisfied that Spa Castle is compliant.” A source said that investigators determined that alterations had been made to two spa pools without previous health department approval and inspection. Authorities ordered immediate closure of the pools and said the alterations may or may not have influenced the incident. A Health Department review of video surveillance of the incident also revealed that the facility is “clearly” out of compliance with its safety plan. Three major infractions can be seen on the video, according to authorities. Excessive suction by a water return feature which was sufficient to draw the victim toward it and keep her underwater. Resuscitation efforts by the staff were inconsistent with what was reported to health department inspectors as well and the spa pool feature was used in a way more consistent with a swimming pool than a spa. After viewing the surveillance video, the Health Department issued a Commissioner’s Order for the immediate closure of all Spa Castle pools in addition to the initial closure of the two pools which had been illegally altered. According to authorities, no pool feature will be reopened until a revised safety plan is put in place, which may take days, weeks or longer depending on Spa Castle’s response to official inquiries and requirements. Spa Castle Chief Operations Officer Stephanie Chon said the pools at Spa Castle College Point will be closed until a third-party analysis is complete. “We are deeply committed to the safety of our patrons and are complying fully with the New York City Department of Health following a recent accident involving a child in one of our spa pools,” Chon said. Image courtesy of Facebook/Spa Castle All pools at Spa Castle were closed down after video footage showed that the facility was not following its safety plan.
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