4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MARCH 23, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Photo via YouTube/MajorWorld The city is seeking millions from LIC-based Major World for deceiving customers. City accuses car dealer of predatory lending BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com @AngelaMatua Major World, a car dealer with three locations in Long Island City, may have to cough up millions of dollars for allegedly infl ating prices, falsifying consumer credit applications and deceptively targeting low-income and immigrant communities. Th e Department of Consumer Aff airs (DCA) is seeking more than $2 million in consumer restitution and fi nes from the dealer’s three locations at 43-40 Northern Blvd., 50-30 Northern Blvd. and 44-11 Northern Blvd. DCA will present their fi ndings at the city’s Offi ce of Administrative Trials and Hearings and will also ask for licenses to be revoked and for the creation of a trust fund for unidentifi ed customers who have been harmed. According to DCA Commissioner Lorelei Salas, the dealerships have a history of luring unsuspecting consumers who have limited English profi ciency and promising them great deals regardless of credit history, income or income-to-debt ratios. Th e DCA charged that Major World employees regularly submitted false information on credit applications including the nature of a customers employment, income levels and monthly rent obligations. Major World’s advertising also targeted Spanishspeaking customers and people with lower income or poor credit. Th e company used phrases like “Buenos, Bonitos, Baratos” (Good, Pretty, and Cheap) and slogans like “No credit is no problem” and “We design solutions for bad credit car buyers every day.” Th e DCA further charged that employees also falsely infl ated the value of cars by wrongly claiming vehicles had features like aluminum/alloy wheels, a Bose premium stereo or rear entertainment system. Th e company would also add service repair contracts without the customer’s knowledge, which added thousands of dollars to the bill. DCA also argues that the company sold “dangerously defective vehicles” that have broken down shortly aft er being sold and customers have spent hundreds our thousands of dollars repairing them. In some instances, Major World allegedly refused to address the unsafe conditions and make repairs. Th ough employees usually negotiate the transactions in Spanish, documents are in English and employees sometimes actively conceal interest rates and fi nance charges by folding over pages before customers sign. “Buying that car is usually one of the largest purchases a family makes,” Salas said. “It is outrageous that Major World, who claims to treat its customers like family, traps these hardworking New Yorkers into loans they can’t aff ord. Th e Courier reached out to Major World for comment and has not received a response. Downtown Flushing gets $1.55M for revitalization BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com @smont76 Two organizations representing downtown Flushing received $1.55 million to improve and strengthen its bustling commercial corridors. Th e New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) awarded the Asian Americans for Equality (AAFE) and the Downtown Flushing Transit Hub Business Improvement District (Flushing BID) the grant, which is to be used to improve the area’s commercials districts, on March 13. Part of SBS’ Neighborhood 360° program — an initiative that strengthens and revitalizes commercial corridors by providing funding to local nonprofi t organizations — these groups will be able to use the funds for uses including business attraction, retention and support, cleaning and beautifi cation, marketing, public safety and other quality-of-life enhancements in downtown Flushing. As part of the grant selection process, the bustling area was profi led in a Community District Needs Assessment (CDNA). Th e top three issues that need improvement in the area according to surveyed downtown Flushing merchants are parking, sanitation and transit, the report said. Improvements the groups will seek to make with the grant money include investing in additional sanitation and street beautifi cation services, building upon local marketing campaigns, repurposing underutilized spaces for arts and cultural programming and establishing a formal Flushing tourism program, according to the CDNA. THE COURIER/File photo “Th e forces of gentrifi cation are putting incredible pressure on small businesses in minority and immigrant communities like Flushing,” said Christopher Kui, executive director of Asian Americans for Equality. “Th e survival of these local businesses is critical to a sustainable neighborhood, where mixeduse businesses provide a vital economic and cultural role.” “Strong neighborhoods are the backbone of our city, and the nearly $9 million in investments announced today will go a long way toward revitalizing key commercial corridors,” said SBS Commissioner Gregg Bishop. “Working with community partners, we are responding to local needs to support small business growth and build more vibrant neighborhoods for all New Yorkers.” Part of the downtown Flushing streetscape Trump budget could be a big disaster for NYC BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com/@robbpoz Queens-born President Donald Trump’s executive budget could devastate his home city if is passed without revisions, Mayor Bill de Blasio and other city offi cials warned on March 16. Th e president’s fi nancial plan would result in tremendous cutbacks to numerous federal agencies that could cost the city hundreds of millions of dollars in funds for a host of programs from low-income housing assistance to the NYPD’s counter terrorism initiative. “It’s extraordinary how many negative things have been packed into one budget,” de Blasio said during a March 15 press conference at City Hall. Th e NYPD could lose up to $110 million in federal aid, eff ectively eradicating its counter-terrorism program, Police Commissioner James O’Neill warned. Th e funds pay for offi cer training, bomb-defusing equipment and other items essential to combating potential terrorist attacks. “Th is money is critical to keeping everyone safe,” O’Neill said. Trump’s budget would eliminate community development block grants that, de Blasio said, would endanger the operation of senior citizens centers to housing inspections and repairs. Further proposed cuts would eliminate the HEAP (Home Energy Assistance Program), which provides 700,000 low-income and senior families across the city with funds to help pay their heating and energy bills. Cuts at the federal Department of Education would also impact the city’s public schools system, Schools Chancellor Carmen Farina said. City schools could lose up to $100 million used for professional development for teachers and administrators, as well as aft er-school programs. Regarding public housing, Trump’s desired cuts at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) may cost the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) up to $150 million in operating funds and another $220 million in capital funds. Further proposed cuts at the federal Department of Transportation could lead to up to $2 billion in lost funds for local projects such as the ongoing Second Avenue Subway expansion and the city’s Vision Zero street safety initiative, de Blasio added. Th e executive budget that Trump proposed must be approved by Congress, and de Blasio is confi dent the city’s federal representatives — along with others from across the country — would fi ght to stop the proposed cuts.
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