FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 6, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Bayside man’s
Starbucks rant
goes viral
A steaming Bayside man took to social
media to “espresso” his dissatisfaction with an
American coff ee company, and hilarity ensued.
In a post on the offi cial Starbucks Facebook
page, lactose-intolerant Demit Strato, who
works at Northern Boulevard’s Jam Juice Vape
Shop, said his coff ee break turned into a coffee
breakdown when his request for soy milk
went ignored and regular milk was poured at
his regular Starbucks close by.
Writing “from the comfort of his toilet,”
Strato launched into a comical tirade that has
attracted over 36,000 shares, 112,000 comments
and nearly 500,000 reactions.
Starbucks did not respond publicly to the
thread. However, other media outlets reported
that Strato was off ered a $50 gift card by the
coff ee chain for his troubles.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Bellerose pharmacy
robbery botched
Police are looking for two men who shoved
a Bellerose pharmacy employee to the ground
while trying to rob the store.
At 1:15 p.m. on Tuesday, June 27, two
unknown men entered the Pharmo Drug Store
located at 248-15 Union Turnpike. Once they
were inside, the fi rst suspect engaged with the
34-year-old female employee while the second
suspect forced his way behind the counter.
Th e second suspect then forced the employee
to the ground, demanding that she open the
medicine cabinet.
Th e suspects were unable to open the cabinet
and fl ed the scene empty handed. Th e victim
was not injured during the incident.
Anyone with information in regards to this
incident is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime
Stoppers Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS (8477); all
calls are kept confi dential.
Suzanne Monteverdi
‘Warriors’ want to
stop bridge demo
Th e Kosciuszko Bridge in Maspeth is set to
be demolished in July, and a Facebook group
is trying to rally the troops to fi ght the “battle
against the invasive Bridge-bringers.”
“Defend the Kosciuszko Bridge from Demo
with Wolves & Swords” was created on
Facebook earlier this month with the aim of
defending the “true Kosciuszko Bridge” from
the “imposter false bridge.”
Th e event is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on
July 11, and 725 people have RSVP’d so far.
Th ere is no set date for the demolition and
according to the Newtown Creek Alliance,
it will likely occur between July 7 through
July 15.Th e main span will be removed and
put on a barge to a metal recycling facility in
New Jersey. About six weeks later, the bridge
approaches will be imploded. Th e controlled
demolition does not blow up the bridge but
cuts key connections that cause the spans to
fall.
According to Governor Andrew Cuomo, the process
will save approximately seven to nine months in
order to get the Brooklyn span constructed.
Angela Matua
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Bayside protesters denounce Democratic
lawmaker’s ‘independent’ alliance
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A number of protesters assembled
outside of a Bayside-based lawmaker’s
offi ce on June 29 to demand that
he and seven others end their alliance
with Republicans and rejoin traditional
Democrats in the State Senate.
State Senator Tony Avella, who represents
Bayside, Whitestone, College
Point and Douglaston, is a member
of the Independent Democratic
Conference (IDC): a breakaway group
of eight Democratic senators working
in a coalition with Senate Republicans.
Avella joined the caucus in 2014.
Protesters gathered outside of
Avella’s offi ce — located at 39th
Avenue and Bell Boulevard — on June
29 as part of a series of demonstrations
at each IDC member’s respective offi ce
this morning.
“Th e State Senate would have a
Democratic majority, but since these
eight Democratic senators are caucusing
with the Republicans, we no longer
have a Democratic majority,” said
protester Sydney Frankel. “Essentially,
because of them, a lot of things aren’t
getting passed in the Senate right now
or brought to a vote.”
Protesters were there with a focus on
climate issues, calling for more legislation
that would require the state to
move toward renewable energy.
“It seems like the IDC sort of agreed to
vote Republican. Th ey’re willing to vote
on the Republican agenda,” said Paul
Auerbach, a Bayside resident. “When
you vote for a Democrat, you expect
him to back up the Democratic side.”
“Why would you join a group of people
that are there purposely to block
legislation?” asked Steven Rich.
“Th ey all ran as Democrats, and
they’re now essentially Republicans,”
added Frankel. “Th ey duped everyone.”
Of the eight protesters in Bayside,
three were with the Food & Water
Watch and one was with 350NYC, a
nonprofi t that opposes new coal, oil
and gas projects.
During the protest, Avella was
in Albany for a special session that
Governor Andrew Cuomo called to
focus on extending mayoral control of
the New York City public school system.
Two members of Avella’s staff
came outside to distribute packets containing
Avella’s voting record regarding
environmental conservation, which
protesters requested earlier that morning.
Rebecca Sheehan, Avella’s chief of
staff , also spoke to protesters on her
own behalf.
A prepared statement from IDC
Director of Communications Candice
Giove was also distributed.
“It’s disappointing that these protesters
senselessly killed trees to create
misleading placards since the members
of the IDC are fi ghting to protect
our environment,” Giove said. “We are
working with climate science experts
to strengthen the recently introduced
Climate and Communities Protection
Act so that New York can act as an
example for other states in the face of
federal failure. And, we proudly passed
the Community Risk and Resiliency
Act that makes our state monitor climate
change risk such as sea level rise,
fl ooding and storm surges, and use data
to predict extreme weather. Th is major
law included investments in environmental
infrastructure projects to revitalize
waterfronts, cleanup coastlines,
and protect farmland. It also included
revolving funds to address water pollution
and drinking water concerns. Th e
members of the IDC are committed
to combating climate change and will
continue to fi ght for this issue.”
Reaction from protesters was immediate,
vocally calling the statement
“condescending” and “disrespectful.”
Avella addressed protesters’ concerns
in a statement issued later that same
day.
“Th e threat of climate change is a
serious threat to our city, our state, our
country and our world and is something
that I am, and have been, committed
to combating,” Avella said.
“I am proud to be the Senate sponsor
of the ‘Climate and Community
Protection Act’ and I will exert the
same commitment and passion in getting
this bill passed as I did in leading
the fi ght against high volume hydrofracking
in the legislature that culminated
in Governor Cuomo’s decision
to not permit HVHF in New York. I
will continue to work with advocates
and climate scientists to ensure that the
CCPA is able to achieve all of its goals
in the fi ght against climate change in
New York State.”
Th is is not the fi rst demonstration
regarding the IDC to happen at the
location. In February, dueling protests
broke out in front of the Senator’s offi ce
over his affi liation with the breakaway
group of Senate Democrats.
Earlier this week, dozens gathered at
Th e Jewish Center of Jackson Heights
to question state Senator Jose Peralta
on his involvement with the IDC. Th e
senator did not respond to their invitation,
organizers of the event said.
A demonstration also took place last
month at P.S. 69 in Jackson Heights,
with protesters demanding that Peralta
also end his alliance.
Protesters gathered in Bayside on June 29.
