4 The QUEE NS Courier • june 23, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Photo courtesy of Twitter/110th Precinct Man operating van with 80 speakers arrested for blaring loud music By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua A man who has been using a van outfitted with approximately 80 speakers to blare loud music and host impromptu parties near Willets Point in Queens was arrested on June 18. According to the 110th Precinct Community Affairs Unit, the precinct has been getting several 311 noise complaints and the loud noise has been an “ongoing issue.” On June 18 at approximately 10:40 p.m., officers received several calls from surrounding precincts and staff at Citi Field about the music. Officers responded to the scene at the intersection of 35th Avenue and 127th Street and found a crowd of about 40 people gathered outside of a white van with dozens of speakers installed in the back, according to a criminal complaint. An officer who approached the vehicle said the doors and windows of his police vehicle were vibrating from the noise and that his “ears began ringing,” the complaint read. The owner of the van, 47-year-old Nelson Hidalgo, of South Richmond Hill, was seated in the passenger seat of the vehicle, adjusting the sound controls. The commercial speakers ranged from 8 inches to 14 inches and the van also included “several output amplifiers and sound meter devices … causing unreasonable noise, public inconvenience and annoyance,” according to the complaint. The speakers were also blocking the view to the rear window. Hidalgo told the officer that he spent thousands of dollars on outfitting his van with the speakers. “The vehicle is mine. I spent over $20,000 on this equipment,” Hidalgo said. “I know it’s illegal but it’s the weekend. How come I don’t get a ticket this time? I usually get a ticket or it gets thrown out or I pay a little fee.” Hidalgo was charged with second degree criminal nuisance, general noise prohibition, disorderly conduct and equipment of motor vehicles obstructing driver’s view. He was arraigned on June 19 and is expected to be back in court on Aug. 1. Deputy Inspector Christopher Manson, the 110th Precinct’s commanding officer, tweeted a picture of the van with the caption, “This is the truck that has been playing the LOUD music in the junk yards at night. The owner is now in our cell.” More than a dozen people, including residents from Whitestone and College Point, thanked the inspector for making the arrest. A man was arrested after cops found a large group of people congregating outside of his van. Nine high school students from Queens are accepted to the US service academies By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Nine students from Queens have been accepted to the United States service academies after being nominated by Congresswoman Grace Meng of Flushing. On June 20, Meng announced that eight students were selected for the prestigious institutions including the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York; U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland; U.S. Air Force Academy at Colorado Springs, Colorado; U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York; and the U.S. Coast Guard Academy at New London, Connecticut. A ninth student will enroll in the Air Force Academy Prep School in Colorado. “It is an honor to congratulate these outstanding young men and women,” Meng said. “They are our next generation of leaders and I thank each of them for dedicating themselves to our country. They’ve made me proud and I know they’ll make our nation proud as well. I wish them all the best.” Out of 23 nominees, Meng chose the nine winners who will start attending the academies later this month. Meng honored the students with their families at a reception on June 20 at her northeast Flushing office. She also presented each student with a Certificate of Congressional Recognition alongside Lieutenant Commander Kelly Gualtieri, the northeast admissions officer at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. The elite service academies will prepare American college kids to be officers of the U.S. uniformed services. After four years of completed study, service academy graduates will be commissioned as officers in the active or reserve areas of the U.S. military or merchant marine for a minimum of five years. Students who are striving to attend the nation’s service academies must be nominated by their Congress member and evaluated by the institutions. After the total nominations are received by congressmen and congresswomen nationwide, the winning nominees will be accepted into the programs. According to Meng’s press release, students nominated by the congresswoman must compete against peers nationwide while meeting the highly competitive educational, physical and extracurricular standards set by each institution. Meng’s Academy Review Board, a panel of local community leaders, accompanies the congresswoman in the process. This fall, Meng plans to sponsor “U.S. Service Academy Information Night” again for Queens students who are interested in applying to the U.S. service academies. Meng has made 83 nominations, and a total of 19 students have been accepted since she took office nearly four years ago.
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