4 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 10, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Photo: Shutterstock
Senator says
house-sharers
should check for
identifi cation
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
A Queens senator is proposing new
legislation to address concerns around
the safety of short-term rentals off ered
through online hubs such as Airbnb.
State Senator Tony Avella is seeking
legislation to require all short-term
rentals to keep guests’ records for a certain
period of time and request legal
identifi cation of guests upon arrival
and check-in, which are required for
those checking into hotels or motels.
“Airbnb’s unwelcome proliferation
in neighborhoods in my district, mostly
by absentee commercial operators,
has created a public nuisance and public
safety risks that are simply unacceptable,”
Avella said. “If Airbnb wants
to act like a hotel, then it must be subject
to the same basic transparency and
disclosure requirements that all legal
lodging establishments in the City of
New York are responsible for.”
In addition to requiring photo identifi
cation and maintaining guest registries,
Avella is seeking to require owners
of Airbnb rentals to state the property
address on their listings in Queens
and to affi rm that there are no outstanding
violations in their property.
An Airbnb spokesperson slammed
the legislation in an email to Th e
Courier.
“It is unfortunate that a lawmaker
who has taken tens of thousands
of dollars in campaign contributions
from the hotel industry would introduce
legislation attacking hardworking
New Yorkers for using their own
homes to earn enough to stay in the
neighborhoods they love,” said Airbnb
spokesperson Peter Schottenfels. “If
Senator Avella is serious about this
issue, he should join Assemblyman
Lentol in fi ghting for common sense
legislation that allows New Yorkers to
share their homes while cracking down
on commercial operators who abuse
home sharing platforms.”
Popular Greek restaurant in
Astoria will expand to Bayside
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Bayside residents will soon be able to
order authentic Greek dishes and fresh
seafood at Taverna Kyclades, a popular
restaurant with locations in Astoria and
Manhattan.
According to an employee at the Astoria
location, the restaurant will expand to
a space on Bell Boulevard. Th e employee
declined to provide a specifi c address
but said the owners are looking at a fall
opening.
Th e menu, which will off er the same
dishes at the current restaurants, will off er
dishes “from the land” and “from the sea”
as well as appetizers and salads.
Options from the land include lamb
chops, rib-eye steak, kebabs, grilled quails
and keft edakia (Greek meatballs), which
are all served with a side of rice, potatoes,
french fries, beets or horta (boiled
greens).
Th e fi sh menu is more extensive with
about 20 options including Mediterranean
sea bass, red snapper, grilled swordfi sh,
fi let of sole, calamari, grilled or fried baby
shark, shrimp and scallops.
Appetizers include a variety of dips,
spanakopita, pan fried Greek cheese and
more.
Photo courtesy of Facebook/Taverna Kyclades
Taverna Kyclades in Astoria is expanding to Bell Boulevard in Bayside.
East Elmhurst man charged with
selling stolen Douglaston tortoise
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A Queens man is accused of perpetrating
the worst crime of the “Millennium.”
Shawn Waters, 36, of 103rd Street
in East Elmhurst has been charged
with fourth-degree criminal possession
of stolen property aft er allegedly
selling Millennium, a 17-year-old tortoise
who was swiped from Alley Pond
Environmental Center last month, to a
Connecticut man. Waters faces up to four
years in prison for the Class E felony.
On July 17 at about 4 p.m., the animal
was discovered missing from Alley
Pond Environmental Center on Northern
Boulevard in Douglaston by an employee.
Th e African spurred tortoise, who is estimated
to be worth approximately $2,500,
was taken from his enclosure.
About a week later, the 111th Precinct
Detective Squad was able to pinpoint
Millennium in Connecticut and returned
him in good condition to staff at the
Douglaston environmental center, who
were able to identify him as the missing
animal.
According to District Attorney
Richard A. Brown, Waters was the middle
Detectives from the 111th Precinct Detective Squad and members of the Alley Pond Environmental
Center with Millennium the tortoise.
man in a series of reptile trades
that spanned the tri-state area. Th e East
Elmhurst man, who was looking to
exchange his snapping turtle for a tortoise,
allegedly met with an unidentifi ed
man in Bayside to make the trade. Th e
tortoise in question, it is alleged, was the
beloved Millennium.
Aft er picking up the tortoise in Bayside,
Waters allegedly headed to the Fairfi eld,
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD111Pct
CT Metro North train station to trade the
tortoise for a musk turtle put up for sale
on Criagslist by a local man. Waters also
received $300 in the trade.
Th e following day, the Fairfi eld man
contacted police when he realized the tortoise
he was now in possession of was the
stolen Millennium.
Waters is being held on $10,000 bail
and will return to court on Aug. 16.