18 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 28, 2016 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.qns.com Cash-strapped Big Apple Circus folds after fundraising efforts fall short of goal BY ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@qns.com @A_GiudiceReport The show will not go on. After falling short of its $2 million East Elmhurst man threw fake bomb into police van in Times Square BY ANGELA MATUA amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua Elmhurst man threw a fake bomb into a police van on the night of July 20, causing the NYPD to call a bomb squad and close off streets and subway lines surrounding Columbus Circle. On July 20 at approximately 11:30 p.m., Hector Meneses, 52, threw an electrical device into the open window of an NYPD van, police said. Meneses fl ed the scene in a gold SUV. The van was parked at West 46th Street and Seventh Avenue and was occupied by a sergeant and police offi cer. The sergeant drove the van one block away from Times Square and removed the device from the vehicle at Sixth Avenue. Police found a candle, a cylindrical object and an electric component with a fl ashing red light wrapped in a white cloth. Offi cials secured the area and called the NYPD Bomb Squad, which determined that the items were a hoax device. At about 2:10 a.m., offi cers from the Midtown The Big Apple Circus will have to close down because it could not reach its fundraising goal. An Elmhurst man threw a fake bomb into a police van on July 20. North Precinct observed a gold SUV near Columbus Circle. When they stopped the vehicle, Meneses was seen putting a red helmet on his head. Emergency Services, bomb squad personnel and hostage negotiators were on the scene attempting to speak to Meneses, who was unresponsive. Streets around Columbus Circle were barricaded and 1, A, B, C, and D subway lines skipped the 59th Street/Columbus Circle stop while offi cials tried to negotiate with Meneses. Meneses told police that there were explosives in the vehicle and offi cials used a robot to search the inside of the car and observed what appeared to be a possible device. Police also said Photo courtesy of Big Apple Circus Photo via Twitter/NYPD Meneses was opening a center console inside the vehicle and kept one of his hands out of sight during negotiations. After a bomb squad evaluation found no immediate danger, Meneses was removed from the car. A further investigation found no explosives in the car. At 7:45 a.m. on July 21, Meneses was taken into custody. Meneses is charged with fi rst-degree reckless endangerment, three counts of fi rst-degree falsely reporting an incident, making a false terrorist threat, third-degree criminal possession of a weapon, fi rst-degree menacing, resisting arrest and placing a false bomb. fundraising goal, the Big Apple Circus, which recently performed at Cunningham Park in Queens, will fold its tent for the fi nal time and will not be able to perform at Lincoln Center this holiday season, an annual tradition since 1981. According to The New York Times, on Tuesday, July 26, the nonprofi t circus announced that it was only able to reach $900,000 in funds during its emergency fundraising campaign. To help reach their $2 million goal, the circus created an online donation campaign on Indiegogo, where the public can donate. In all, the online campaign raised over $137,000 in about a month’s time, with donations ranging from $5 to $2,500. However, there was no massive donation that came to save the beloved circus from folding. Many people are not aware that the Big Apple Circus, unlike some of its large competitors, is a nonprofi t organization, so many visitors never thought to donate anything beyond the price of admission. The Big Apple Circus rented part of Cunningham Park for several weeks and became a popular local destination for families and school trips, bringing in thousands of spectators each year. The Big Apple Circus had a new theme each year. The 2016 program called “The Grand Tour” was inspired by the Roaring ’20s and featured a live band, trapeze artists and aerialists, magicians, jugglers, clowns as well as animal acts featuring horses, camels and dogs. Although the one-ring tent may be coming down, Big Apple Circus will be using the $900,000 it received to continue its programs of sending performers to hospitals and nursing homes to boost the spirits of sick children and the elderly.
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