4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 27, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Avella ‘tutors’ de
Blasio on Queens’
tree and sidewalk
issues
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Bayside-based lawmaker wants to
see major changes to how the city cares
for its trees.
State Senator Tony Avella held a
press conference on July 24 to outline
a series of city tree policy suggestions
he posed to the mayor in a letter sent
later that day.
Avella’s comments come in the
wake of Mayor Bill de Blasio’s visit to
Whitestone on July 20 during “City
Hall in Your Borough” to announce
the city has allocated an additional $16
million in funding to the NYC Parks’
Trees and Sidewalks program, which
helps homeowners repair severe damage
caused by the root growth of street
trees.
“I have been talking about tree-related
issues for a long, long time, and the
city has not been giving it the proper
attention,” Avella said.
Aft er referring to the Whitestone
appearance as a “campaign stop,”
Avella said the touted funding does
not go far enough, and listed a number
of changes that he felt should be made
to improve the program and the city’s
tree maintenance as a whole.
On the top of the lawmaker’s list was
codifying the NYC Parks Department’s
program into law and expanding it to
include co-ops and condo buildings.
In addition, the city should be held
responsible for tree roots that break or
damage homeowners’ sewer or water
lines, driveways, front yards and walkways,
Avella continued.
Th e lawmaker also suggested that
NYC Park’s tree pruning cycle policy
was inadequate and should be
changed. Currently seven to 10 years,
the lawmaker proposed it be lowered
to every three to fi ve years, which he
said is the national standard.
Natalie Grybauskas, a spokesperson
for Mayor de Blasio, said Avella’s recommendations
will be reviewed.
“Th e mayor has tripled the resources
dedicated to the Trees and Sidewalks
program so more homeowners can
benefi t from sidewalk repairs and we
can take better care of our urban forest,”
Grybauskas said.
Photo via Shutterstock
The NYC Parks Department declined to comment.
Beloved tortoise stolen from a
Douglastion nonprofi t is found
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Cops have found the beloved reptile stolen
from a Douglaston environmental center
last week in good condition, police
announced on July 25.
Th e 111th Precinct Detective Squad
was able to pinpoint “Millennium,” a
African spurred tortoise who was swiped
from an enclosure at the Alley Pond
Environmental Center on Northern
Boulevard last week, authorities confi
rmed. Th ere have been no arrests.
Th e dearly loved reptile, who is 17 and a
half years old, was reported missing on July
17 at around 4 p.m. by an employee at the
center, who then contacted police.
Venus Hall, an education coordinator
at the center, said that staff picked
up the animal from the 111th Precinct
on July 25 and were able to confi rm that
the found tortoise, who was discovered
in Connecticut, was indeed Millennium.
Hall said the center’s veterinarian will be
coming by to take a look at him.
“We are really glad that he is back,” Hall
said. “He appears to be well.”
Shortly aft er Millennium was reported
missing, animal rights organization PETA
put up an off er of up to $5,000 “for information
leading to Millennium’s safe
return as well as the arrest and conviction of
the person or persons who abducted him.”
Deputy Inspector William A. McBride,
commanding offi cer of the 111th Precinct,
took to Twitter to commend the Detective
Squad for their work.
Flushing man found with 322 forged credit cards
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
cers near Main Street and 38th Avenue
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
for a traffi c infraction on July 23 at
around 7:30 p.m , according to authorities.
A routine traffi c stop turned into a
major credit card bust as a Flushing
However, police soon discovered that
man was arrested with hundreds of
Lin had an open warrant and was in
forged credit cards in his possession.
possession of 322 forged credit cards
Vincent Lin, 21, of Robinson Street
and a skimming device.
was pulled over by 109th Precinct offi -
Lin was arrested and charged with
possession of forged instrument, failure
to obey a traffi c device, unlicensed
operation of a motor vehicle and criminal
possession of a controlled substance.
Inspector Judith Harrison, commander
of the 109th Precinct, took to Twitter
to commend Police Offi cers Kinkaid,
Joseph and Rosado on the arrest.
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD109Pct
109th Precinct Offi cers Kinkaid, Joseph and Rosado with the confi scated forged credit cards and skimmer.
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD111Pct
Millennium is reunited with the Alley Pond Environmental Center staff on July 25.