4 The QUEE NS Courier • MAY 26, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com THE COURIER/Photo by Brianna Ellis and art department Abandoned barges were given the boot from Flushing Bay. Toxic, abandoned barges in Flushing Bay are removed By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Fewer toxins will be floating in the waters of Flushing Bay, now that two abandoned barges have been taken out of the waterway. Councilman Joseph Crowley joined with Colonel David Caldwell, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers NY District Commander, and Flushing Bay advocates on May 23 to announce the removal of derelict barges that contributed to the pollution of the waterway. “To those who think they can leave their waste, large or small, in this bay or any waterway in New York City … know this — we will find you, we will make you pay for the damage that you have caused to our environment,” Crowley said as a public warning to negligent owners whose barges have contaminated the bay’s waterway for over a year. Caldwell explained that a local business, DonJon Marine in New Jersey, has been working each night to remove the barges since May 18 and was scheduled to finish the project on Monday. “The barges were constructed of steel. They had wood and concrete decking on top and they had Styrofoam blocks underneath that decking to increase the buoyancy … so as the barges started breaking apart the primary pollutant was the Styrofoam because it floats all around Flushing Bay,” Caldwell said in describing the barges, including a partially broken one and another completely broken in half. The pier, located at 1 World’s Fair Marina, is a vital transportation service for local ships that import sand, stone and petroleum products through the Flushing Bay channel. The barges were abandoned by an unknown owner, threatening navigation safety to other vessels and killing marine life with its wastes. “This is a criminal activity. It’s costing taxpayers millions of dollars to clean up and they might as well be robbing the bank,” Crowley said in condemning the violators who have caused financial and environmental destruction. “It’s an assault, not only upon Flushing Bay but on the people who use the bay and on our community.” Supporters of Flushing Bay included groups like Riverkeeper, Guardians of Flushing Bay, Friends of Flushing Creek and Flushing Bay Advocates. “We are very pleased and elated that the barge has been removed,” said coach Akila Simon of Empire Dragon Boat Team. “It’s been a long process getting us here and like others before me have said, we definitely cannot neglect the area of Flushing Bay, it’s something that we utilize.” NYPD A burglar has been hitting homes in northeast Queens since December. COPS SEARCH FOR BURGLAR ON PROWL IN NORTHEAST QUEENS By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Police are searching for a suspect who has conducted multiple burglaries in Bayside and other Queens neighborhoods in a pattern dating back to December 2015. The first incident took place on Dec. 6 at 11:43 p.m., where the individual broke into the home of a 62-year-old male, located near 161st Street and the Grand Central Parkway in Jamaica. The male burglar entered through the front window and stole assorted electronics and cash. He then fled the place through the back door. Police said the most recent incident occurred on May 5 at 7:45 a.m., when the suspect burglarized a 50-year-old male’s home in the area of Gladwin Avenue and Utopia Parkway in Fresh Meadows. Reportedly, the crook entered through a rear window, grabbed jewelry and fled out the same window. The other burglaries in the pattern are as follows: - At 7 p.m. on April 1, the suspect broke into the home of a 73-year-old woman near 56th Avenue and 208th Street in Bayside and stole assorted jewelry. He entered through a back window and fled through a side door. - At 5:30 a.m. on April 17, the burglar struck the home of a 45-year-old man at an undisclosed location in the 107th Precinct’s confines and stole jewelry and a laptop computer. - At 9 a.m. on April 29, the perpetrator broke into the home of a 54-year-old man in the area of 50th Avenue and 212th Street in Bayside and removed jewelry and handbags. - At 8:30 p.m. on April 29, the suspect burglarized the home of a 35-year-old woman in the vicinity of 50th Avenue and Utopia Parkway in Fresh Meadows, stealing wristwatches and handbags. - At 2 p.m. on May 3, the burglar entered the home of a 47-year-old woman in the area of 196th Street and 47th Avenue in Bayside and stole jewelry and a laptop computer. Police described the suspect as a white male between 40 and 50 years of age who was last seen wearing a blue sweatshirt and a Brooklyn baseball cap. Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS or for Spanish 888-57-PISTA (74782). The public can also submit their tips by logging onto the Crime Stoppers website or texting their tips to 274637 (CRIMES) then enter TIP577. All calls are and messages are kept confidential.
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