4 The QUEE NS Courier • AUGUST 4, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com ‘ZOMBIE’ PROPERTIES PLAGUE FLUSHING By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Another day, another abandoned house plaguing a Queens neighborhood. Flushing residents rallied on Aug. 1 alongside a local elected official to call on the city to take action against this “eyesore.” State Senator Tony Avella urged the city and two mortgage companies to recognize and rectify the neglected property. He called upon city officials to clean and repair the “zombie” house, located at 25-18 163rd St. He also requested the removal of a derelict vehicle filled with dirt and weeds, which has been sitting in the driveway since 2004. Furthermore, the state senator said, the abandoned Flushing residence was used for illegal mortgage activity. According to Avella, the property had two undisclosed mortgages and one is currently in the process of being foreclosed. “It appears from city and court records that the owners of this property took out two separate mortgages valued at hundreds of thousands of dollars and at least one of those was part of a scheme to defraud investors who were part of a pension plan in the state of Virginia that sold the mortgage as part of a package of bad loans,” Avella revealed. “In fact, the people behind putting together these bad mortgages are now in jail.” Avella is presently contacting both mortgage holders of the abandoned Flushing home, demanding maintenance of the property. The senator also asked the city Department of Buildings to issue various fines especially for the growing health violations that the property poses. The neglected property may potentially become the first test case for a new law that was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo last month that aims to combat the issue of “zombie properties.” Avella told community members that the new law will be effective on Dec. 20, 2016. The policy will mandate banks and mortgage service representatives who managed the loans to maintain “zombie homes,” and will create a process to hasten the foreclosure process for vacant and abandoned properties. “This property is in horrendous condition with unsightly tarps draped over the entire roof. The rest of the outside is broken and dilapidated, and grass and weeds are growing up to 4 feet high. On top of that there is an obviously abandoned vehicle that’s been sitting on this property for a very long time,” Avella said. “To make matters worse, this property is a large corner property in the midst of a beautiful and tranquil residential community, which is completely overshadowed by this zombie property which casts a pale of desperation and decline over the entire neighborhood.” Photo: Brianna Ellis/QNS Another abandoned house rots in the Flushing community and residents are not pleased. A former Bayside resident who worked as a substitute special education teacher was charged with attempted criminal sex acts and more. BAYSIDE TEACHER BUSTED IN ONLINE SEX STING By Brianna Ellis bellis@qns.com/@briinformed Yet another teacher from Queens has been charged with attempting to set up a sexual tryst with a minor. According to Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown, Bayside‘s Christopher Tselios, 28, a former substitute special education teacher, was caught after trying to meet up with an undercover NYPD vice detective who was posing as a 14-year-old girl. The creep intended to perform oral sex on the young girl in exchange for $500 in cash. It was the latest case in a recent pattern involving pedophiles in Queens, and particularly from figures of authority, that’s enough to have any parent worried for their children’s safety. The detective originally responded to Tselios’ Craigslist ad seeking “fun with a teen high school or younger” on Tuesday, July 26. According to prosecutors, Tselios allegedly replied to the girl and asked her age. After the officer replied saying age 14, the two exchanged photos including one of a female detective. “This case underscores the crucial importance of internet surveillance initiatives by law enforcement to protect children from sexual predators. This case, and the many others my office has prosecuted, should serve as a warning to parents that they must closely monitor their children’s internet activities,” Brown announced on Monday. “Despite the numerous publicized arrests for exactly this type of alleged behavior, sexual predators continue to relentlessly scour the internet for victims. Do not let your child become one of them.” Brown revealed that the defendant allegedly persuaded the teen to meet up and “fool around” in a July 29 email. Tselios reportedly offered the minor $500 to perform oral sex on her and arranged a meeting at a Forest Hills eatery at 11 p.m. The undercover female officer, who sent a photo to the defendant, waited at the agreed meeting spot. Tselios allegedly walked in and said “let’s go,” minutes before midnight. The pervert, who possessed $500 in cash, was then arrested after he arrived at his parked car with the “girl.” Tselios was arraigned on July 30 and charged with second-degree attempted criminal sexual act, first-degree attempted dissemination indecent material to minors, third-degree patronizing a prostitute and attempted endangering the welfare of a child. The defendant, who had planned to permanently relocate to South Korea as a kindergarten teacher this week, must surrender his passport following the arraignment and bail totaling $50,000. Tselios was ordered to return to court on Aug. 12 and faces up to four years in prison if convicted.
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