4 THE QUEENS COURIER • AUGUST 22, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens creep
followed woman
onto E train and
exposed his junk
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
Cops need the public’s help in
fi nding a creep who followed a
woman for a subway ride from
Briarwood to Woodside and
exposed his genitals to her while
on board.
Police said the trouble began just
before 1:40 a.m. on Aug. 9 when
the suspect and victim, a 23-yearold
woman, boarded a Manhattanbound
E train at the Briarwood
station.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said that the woman noticed
that the perpetrator had followed
her into the station and on board
the train.
Moments later, authorities noted,
the suspect sat across from the victim,
then exposed his penis to her.
When the train arrived at the
Northern Boulevard station in
Woodside, police said, the victim
yelled at the creep, then walked off
the train and alerted the MTA conductor.
Sources said the perpetrator
was last seen exiting the E train
at the 46th Street station.
Th e incident was reported to
the 107th Precinct and the NYPD
Transit Bureau.
On Aug. 17, the NYPD released
a cellphone photo of the creep.
He’s described as a Hispanic man
between 35 and 55 years of age
who wore a navy blue New York
Yankees baseball cap, a white
T-shirt, gray sweatpants and
dark-colored sneakers.
Anyone with information
regarding the suspect’s whereabouts
can call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS (for Spanish, dial
888-57-PISTA), visit the Crime
Stoppers website or send a direct
message on Twitter @NYPDTips.
All calls and messages are kept
confi dential.
Bayside man admits to hoarding weapons and ammo rounds
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com
@robbpoz
A Bayside man who’s apparently
gaga for guns will be spending
years in prison for illegally
stockpiling scores of fi rearms
— and tens of thousands of
bullets — inside his home.
Ronald Drabman, 61, of
208th Street pleaded guilty
back in January to fi rst- and
second-degree criminal possession
of a weapon charges
for two cases: one in which
he ditched a gun aft er being
involved in a traffi c accident,
and the other for his household
arsenal.
Acting Queens District Attorney
John Ryan said that Drabman is now
serving concurrent prison sentences
of fi ve years and 3 1/2 years, respectively,
for the charges. Acting Queens Supreme
Court Justice Karen Gopee handed down
the terms on Aug. 15.
“Th is defendant was caught twice
attempting to hide weapons and live
rounds of ammunition,” Ryan said on Aug.
19 in announcing the sentencing. “His
actions posed a grave threat to the public.
Th e sentence imposed by the Court is more
than warranted, and this should serve as a
reminder that illegal guns and ammo will
not be tolerated in Queens County.”
Th e fi rst case involving Drabman happened
at 4 p.m. on Sept. 29, 2017, aft er he
became involved in a motor vehicle crash
on Hillside Avenue in Jamaica; offi cers
from the 103rd Precinct had to extricate
him from the truck.
Handguns seized during the April 19, 2018 raid at Ronald Drabman’s
Bayside home.
While being
administered
medical care by
fi rst responders
Photo by Ken Murray/
New York Daily News
Ronald Drabman during an
April 2018 appearance in
Queens Criminal Court
inside an ambulance, authorities said,
Drabman removed a black fi rearm from
his waistband and tried to give it to an
EMT on the scene. Th e EMT refused to
take the weapon, leading Drabman to exit
the ambulance and return to his truck to
hide the weapon.
But offi cers later found the gun, a .357
revolver, along with two speed loaders and
several rounds of ammunition from inside
the truck.
Th en, on April 19, 2018, the NYPD Field
Intelligence Division executed a court-authorized
search of Drabman’s home as part
of an investigation.
During the raid, they found his homemade
arsenal in the basement, which contained
45 rifl es, 23 handguns, a zip gun,
two .177-caliber pellet guns and more than
50,000 rounds of ammunition.
Offi cers also recovered $15,805 in cash
from Drabman’s residence.
Prosecutors said that Drabman does not
have a valid fi rearms license, nor is he
licensed to sell or manufacture guns or
ammunition.
New LED lights fi nally arrive on Bayside Hills sts.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
As part of its continued eff ort to reduce
the city’s energy use, the Department of
Transportation is installing new energy-effi
cient lights in Bayside.
Residents in the Bayside Hills section
of the neighborhood noticed light bases
going up on Bell Boulevard between 48th
and 50th avenues. According to a DOT
spokesperson, the agency plans to remove
four existing lampposts from the sidewalk
and install six lampposts in the center
median along the stretch.
All of the new lampposts will be energy
effi cient LEDs, which replaces the current
standard high-pressure sodium street
lights. DOT maintains 262,000 lights on
the street, bridges and underpasses, 12,000
in parks and 26,000 on highways.
DOT began testing the LEDs on streets
and sidewalks in Central Park and along the
FDR Drive in 2009. Th e agency partnered
with the U.S. Department of Energy and the
Climate Group on the LightSavers program,
fi rst established in Toronto in 2008. Th e initiative’s
purpose is to reduce the city’s greenhouse
gas emissions while simultaneously
improving energy effi ciency.
Th e Climate Group also plans to bring
the LightSavers program to other cities
including Toronto, London, Mumbai,
Calcutta, Bangalore, Hong Kong, Beijing
and Shanghai.
In 2013, former Mayor Michael
Bloomberg announced that DOT would
retrofi t all 250,000 of the city’s street lights
with energy-effi cient LEDs, which reportedly
saves $6 million in energy and $8 million
in maintenance a year.
DOT’s energy effi ciency goals were outlined
in Bloomberg’s PlaNYC 2030, which
calls for a 30 percent reduction of the city’s
greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
According to the agency, the current
high-pressure sodium lights last six years,
compared to more sustainable LEDs,
which can last up to 20 years before needing
replacement. Th e LED lighting also
produces a “crisper, whiter light” under
lower intensity, allowing for increased visibility
at night.
Photo via NYPD
Photo via Google Maps
DOT plans to replace Bayside Hills street lights on Bell Boulevard between 48th and 50th Avenues
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