20170518_XQC_QNE_p004

QC05182017

4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 18, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM No charges for homeless man in deadly Net cafe stabbing BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz A Queens grand jury declined to indict a homeless man charged with fatally stabbing a teenager during a fi ght over a seat at a Flushing internet cafe last month. Photo via Google Maps The K&D Internet Cafe at 38-19 Union St. in Flushing, where police say a 19-year-old was fatally stabbed on April 26. Paul Kim, 51, was facing charges of manslaughter and criminal possession of a weapon for the April 26 killing of Yangpu Fan, 19, at the K&D Internet Cafe located at 38-19 Union St. A spokesperson for Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown confi rmed a NY1 report on May 14 that the grand jury failed to pass an indictment against Kim, making him a free man. Th e district attorney’s offi ce declined to comment on the matter, as it cannot discuss details related to grand jury proceedings. According to law enforcement sources, Kim got into a fi ght with Fan inside the internet cafe about 9:43 p.m. on April 26. Th e dispute started at Fan, who was with a group of friends at the time, asked Kim to move from his seat so they could all sit together. Th e request ultimately boiled into an argument, during which Kim allegedly stabbed Fan in the torso. Fan was brought by private means to NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens hospital, where he died a short time later. Offi cers from the 109th Precinct learned about the stabbing while responding to the hospital, then visited the cafe, where they found Kim and placed him in custody. Offi cers also recovered at the scene the knife allegedly used in the deadly assault. Th e 109th Precinct Detective Squad booked Kim following questioning; he had been held in custody without bail. War against ‘booze cruises’ in NE Queens BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76 Community stakeholders are taking action to prevent Whitestone and College Point residents from suff ering through another summer of late-night noise pollution attributed to “booze cruises.” Councilman Paul Vallone recently held a meeting with the 109th Precinct, NYPD Harbor Patrol, party boat owners from Skyline Cruises and Marco Polo Cruises and the NYC Parks Department, which owns the World’s Fair Marina, to come up with a multi-step plan of action. Loud music and booming bass traveling across the water from the marina to northern Queens has disturbed the community for years. Last September, Whitestone residents spoke out at a civic meeting, stating the problem had gotten worse. Th e following month, Community Aff airs offi cers visited the civic meeting to inform residents about the best way to report the noise. Vallone and the 109th Precinct have begun recruiting and training residents to become “boat watchers,” volunteers who report noise coming from specifi c boats using digital resources. Harbor Patrol will be informing boat owners at the beginning of the season that they will be monitoring noise on or around the docks throughout the season. Party boat owners have also proactively moved their speakers to the inside of the cabin and will be attending local civic meetings to hear concerns from the community, according to Vallone’s offi ce. Sound checks will also be performed to determine what level music should be set at while out on the water so it will not disturb the surrounding community. According to Vallone, party boat owners were “very cooperative and eager to resolve these issues.” Th e group of stakeholders will meet again before Memorial Day to go over the plan of action and expectations. “Th e days of Whitestone and College Point being plagued by incessant music and pounding bass are coming to an end,” Vallone said. “We have worked hand in hand with all parties to develop this plan which will go a long way towards providing our neighborhoods with the peace and quiet they deserve. Continuing to work together will be critical in ensuring that this noise pollution does not reemerge.” Ground broken in Bayside on Korean nonprofi t group’s expanded community center BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76 A Korean nonprofi t organization has started the process of expanding the new community center it recently established at the former site of the Bayside Jewish Center. Korean Community Services (KCS) moved into the the property at 203- 05 32nd Ave. earlier this year. Th e 35,300-square-foot facility on a 54,000-square-foot lot is equipped with meeting rooms, cafeteria, gymnasium, banquet hall, classrooms and offi ce space. According to preliminary renderings of the group’s planned renovations, plans include the addition of art and learning classrooms, a senior and adult care center, recreation area and a universal preschool space. “You can always tell what an organization is going to accomplish by where it’s been,” Borough President Melinda Katz said at the May 16 groundbreaking. “And KCS has been an unbelievable partner in so many services that are so desperately needed throughout this great borough of Queens and throughout the city of New York.” Th rough the new headquarters, the nonprofi t will off er services including adult daycare, aft er-school programs, English as a Second Language classes and immigration services to people from all walks of life. Th e borough president also announced that she, Councilman Paul Vallone and Councilman Barry Grodenchik together allocated close to $3 million to help with the center’s day-to-day operations. “We want more families to come here” Katz said. “And we know that we can only build our community through the great services that KCS has.” “I hope this community center will be a place of networking, of learning and of sharing for the Korean community,” said Ki Hwan Kim, Counsel General of the Korean Consulate of NY. “I hope Korean-Americans contribute to the development of not only the Korean community, but also other communities in Queens.” Korean Community Services (KCS) purchased the building for $7.5 million, plus an estimated renovation cost of $700,000. Th e nonprofi t hopes to secure remaining funds needed to pay off the existing loan through a capital campaign. Th e center is currently operational; planned renovations will be completed late next year or early 2019. Learn more by visiting the nonprofi t’s website at www.kcsny.org.


QC05182017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above