FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 1, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3 Bayside man fatally shot in Flushing Cops are continuing to investigate the fatal shooting of a Bayside man in front of a Flushing grocery store that occurred just before midnight on Tuesday. Offi cers from the 109th Precinct responded to the corner of 162nd Street and Station Road at 12:02 a.m. on Wednesday morning, May 31, aft er receiving a 911 call about the incident. Moments before they arrived, sources familiar with the investigation said, an unidentifi ed male walked up to Fernando Gonzalez- Chavez, 39, at the location and opened fi re, shooting the man in the face. Th e gunman then fl ed the scene in an unknown direction. Th e responding offi cers and EMS units found Gonzalez-Chavez, who resided on 47th Avenue in Bayside, unconscious and unresponsive at the location; paramedics would ultimately pronounce him dead at the scene. As of press time, police do not yet know the motive that led up to the deadly shooting. Detectives are continuing to search the area for video evidence and possible eyewitnesses, law enforcement sources said. Robert Pozarycki School district super faces sex abuse charges Th e former leader of a Queens public school district was arrested on May 23 on charges that he repeatedly sexually abused a female employee at one of the district’s schools. Community Superintendent Lenon Murray, 56, of School District 29, was charged with forcible touching and sexual abuse. Th e district, which has offi ces in Queens Village, covers public schools in various southeast Queens neighborhoods. Reports say that the 34-year-old female employee works at P.S. 35, located at 90th Avenue in Hollis. Th e victim told police that the abuse began in December 2013 and continued to as recently as May 2, of this year. Th e victim reported the abuse to the police on May 15. According to published reports, Murray has been terminated from his position aft er being charged. Emily Davenport Roll out the rain barrels in Flushing Flushing residents have the opportunity to collect a free rain barrel at a giveaway event this Saturday. On June 3, residents can go to the Queens Botanical Garden, located at 43-50 Main St., between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. for the area’s second annual rain barrel giveaway. Last year’s inaugural event saw nearly 100 barrels given away to residents. According to NYC Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the 60-gallon rain barrels are easy to install and connect directly to a property owner’s downspout to capture and store the stormwater that falls on the rooft op. Th e water collected in the rain barrel can then be used to water lawns and gardens, or for other outdoor chores. Th e event is sponsored Councilman Peter Koo, Queens Botanical Garden and the DEP. Suzanne Monteverdi Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi Douglaston residents push for a public park at a disputed grassy lot in the neighborhood BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76 Some Douglaston residents see a fi eld of dreams in a long-vacant lot in the neighborhood. On May 30, state Senator Tony Avella and local leaders gathered in front of a grassy plot at 39th Avenue and 234th Street, which sits between St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church and an adjacent home, to once again ask for a public park to rise up at the space. “Th is is one of those situations which never seems to get addressed,” Avella said. “It’s 10 to 15 years that the community and I have been trying to get this piece of property that you see behind us made into a NYC park.” In the 1960s, the city condemned the approximately 10,000-squarefoot property for a road-building project which never materialized. About a decade ago, the neighboring church eyed the property — owned by the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) — for a for-profi t daycare, but dropped the plans aft er receiving strong opposition from local residents. Th e church also tried to purchase the land to build a parking lot to no avail. Now, residents are renewing the call for the NYC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) to take over the city-owned space and create a public park. “As a senior citizen, if I want to take a walk, there’s no place to sit down,” said Ann Jawin, longtime resident and founder of the Doug Bay Civic Association. “It’s very important to have amenities. Th is could be a beautiful little vest pocket park. We don’t want anything major.” “Th e important thing here is the city’s inactivity,” added Michael Gannon, president of the Douglas Manor Association. “Residents of Doug Bay are surrounded by natural beauty, but they can’t use it … Th at’s why this park makes so much sense to me.” Avella, who pointed out that there is no NYC Park in Douglaston, said he would be reaching out to Mayor Bill de Blasio and NYC DPR Commissioner Mitchell Silver again to continue the push. “Do the right thing by this community,” the state senator closed. “Just transfer the property and then let’s have a discussion about what should go there.” A DPR spokesperson said that Assistant Commissioner of Planning & Parklands Alyssa Cobb Konon wrote to Avella in May 2014 and said that the project would require an estimated $2 million in funding. “We will work with HPD to transfer the lot to the Department of Parks and Recreation to begin the design phase as soon as the funding is allocated,” Konon wrote. “It is standard that we only accept acquisitions if funding is in place to develop the property,” the DPR spokesperson said. Ann Jawin (foreground, at right) with State Senator Tony Avella at a May 30 press conference. The vacant lot near St. Sarkis Armenian Apostolic Church
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