FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com MARCH 10, 2016 • The Queens Courier 3 DEADLY ASTORIA CRIME SPREE ENDS WITH THE SUSPECT SHOT By Robert Pozarycki [email protected]/@robbpoz The suspect behind a bloody and fiery crime spree through Astoria on March 6 was shot by police after attacking two officers with a flammable substance, according to the NYPD. James Patrick Dillon, 23, is recovering at a local hospital after allegedly going on a rampage on March 6 that left a 55-year-old man dead, a woman slashed and an elderly, homeless man burned. Photos courtesy of NYPD According to authorities, the James Patrick Dillon allegedly violence began at 11:30 a.m. on went on a violent rampage March 6, when officers from the in Astoria on Sunday 114th Precinct learned that a that left one person dead, 39-year-old woman was slashed according to police. in the head and face in front of a location on 36th Street near 28th Avenue. She was brought to Mount Sinai Hospital in Astoria in stable condition. More than three hours later, police said, the suspect (later identified as Dillon) who slashed the woman visited a liquor store at 38-18 Astoria Blvd. at 3:09 p.m., slashed 55-year-old store owner George Patouhas and assaulted and burned a 61-year-old homeless man near the location. Patouhas was later pronounced dead from his injuries at Mount Sinai Hospital; the homeless man was taken to Cornell Medical Center and is listed in stable condition. Dillon then broke into a home on 42nd Street at about 5:11 p.m. but fled the location without incident. According to authorities, a female resident spotted the suspect attempting to break into her apartment and, upon calling 911, observed the perpetrator fleeing down a fire escape. Finally, at 5:40 p.m., two members of the NYPD Critical Response Command confronted Dillon — who was armed with a knife and a bottle of flammable liquid — in the rear of a 36th Street location. According to police, Dillon refused to drop his weapons and sprayed the substance at the officers, who then opened fire on the suspect. Dillon suffered a leg wound and was brought to Elmhurst Hospital along with the two officers, who suffered hand burns. According to Assistant Chief Diana Pizzuti, Dillon was listed in critical condition. “This has been a very unusual day here in Astoria,” Pizzuti said in a press conference Sunday night. “I’d like to thank the hundreds of police officers who looked high and low for the suspect today throughout Queens. There was quite the manhunt to find this suspect.” THE COURIER/Photo by Angela Matua Long Island City residents held a rally to denounce the damage to the Elks Lodge facade by developers. After Elks Lodge facade was destroyed, LIC residents vow to hold developers accountable By Angela Matua [email protected]/@AngelaMatua After construction workers were spotted on Tuesday destroying parts of the facade of the Elks Lodge, a building that Long Island City residents are trying to landmark, many gathered at its steps on Wednesday to protest the destruction. The Elks Lodge, located at 21-42 44th Dr., is slated for demolition to make way for luxury condos. But developers were not granted permits from the Department of Buildings to do any demolition work yet. “Everything that happened here yesterday was illegal,” Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said. “All of it was criminal.” Construction workers removed only pieces of the building that deem it worthy of landmark status like the elk head sculpture, he said. Van Bramer sent a letter to the Landmarks Preservation Committee last week calling on the agency to consider the designation for the building. Shortly after, the altering began. Residents shouted “We will win” and “landmark” as others held signs with messages like “Don’t blast away our past” and “Save us some sky.” Richard Mazda, a Long Island City resident and owner of The Secret Theatre, saw construction workers on scaffolds and without harnesses or protective gear on Tuesday destroying the brick work on the building. They refused to show him any permits and “smirked” at Mazda when he announced said he would be alerting officials, he said. “This is the kind of developer we need to be extra vigilant about and maybe put out a warning to all the new developers coming that this is a community that is unified and if we see illegal work we need to report it…and if we see people going about this in a kind of wanton destruction we need to protest,” Mazda said. Residents also called for a more comprehensive plan for new developments in the area. Orestes Gonzalez pointed out the 80-story building being constructed across the street from the Elks Lodge as an example of thoughtless development in the area. “There are no provisions for what’s going to happen to the 7 train when those 750 units are faced with the prospect of no services. Developers don’t think as urban planners,” Gonzalez said. “They create street-level usage where nobody can go in; there is no commercial activity. One more chunk of the block is converted into no pedestrian activity whatsoever.” Van Bramer announced that the developers, Alwest Equities and Planet Partners, were slapped with multiple fines after he called the Mayor’s Office and Department of Buildings to issue a stop work order. As a result of this issue, Van Bramer said he has introduced two new pieces of legislation to discourage developers from illegally altering structures. The first piece of legislation would impose significant fines and penalties to any landowner that intentionally destroys the facade or any part of a building that is in the process of being landmarked. The second piece would authorize the city to increase the fines if a developer does illegal construction without a permit. Van Bramer is also calling on the landowners to restore every part of the facade that was destroyed. Bob Singleton, executive director of the Greater Astoria Historical Society, added that it is possible to completely restore the building’s facade to its original form. “It’s a dirty trick by some creepy people and we have to push back and make sure they don’t get away with it,” Van Bramer said.
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