QNE_p088

QC09052014

68 The Queens Courier • september 4, 2014 for breaking news visit www.queenscourier.com Howard Beach COP car gets tire slashed BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com @Sal_Licata1 He woke up to exactly what he is trying to deter. Joe Thompson, founder of the Howard Beach Civilian Observation Patrol (COP), was on watch on the night of Aug. 27 and was getting a great response from his neighbors about his work. But the next morning when he checked up on his patrol car, he saw a slash in one of its tires. “I came back from patrol around 12 a.m. and parked my car in front of the house,” Thompson said. “When I came outside I noticed my tire was flat and when I looked at it I noticed a big slash.” Thompson and his team just started patrolling the streets of Howard Beach and Lindenwood last week and have gotten a positive response from many residents. The slashed tire came as a shock to Thompson but he said it was something he could see happening. Photos courtesy of Joe Thompson “You’re always going to catch a few people that are against what you do,” Thompson said. “It’s a shame.” Thompson said the vandalism will not alter his plans. He said he hopes to have more civilian patrol cars on the streets in the future and that this one act of vandalism will not deter him. “We are here to help the community,” Thompson said. “This won’t stop us from doing our patrol.” PETITION: TURN PROPOSED GLENDALE HOMELESS SHELTER SITE INTO A SCHOOL BY SALVATORE LICATA slicata@queenscourier.com/@sal_licata1 A petition has been started to turn the proposed homeless shelter site on Cooper Avenue into an educational facility to better accommodate the overcrowded School District 24. “We are not happy about the shelter,” Kathy Masi, president of the Glendale Civic Association, said at a Community Education Council meeting on Aug. 26. “We are asking the DOE to take a look at the location of Cooper Avenue and the two adjoining properties for a possible school.” All residents at the meeting were urged to sign the petition, which was started by residents of Glendale and Middle Village, with the help of the Glendale Civic Association, asking for a school in the already over-saturated district. Residents believe that turning the site into a specialized school that runs from pre-K to high school would be the optimal usage for the site, whereas if it were turned into a homeless shelter, the child-to-school ratio in the district would grow even more. “I just cannot comprehend the logistics,” said Nick Comaianni, president of the Community Education Council for District 24. “Doesn’t the city take a look at this?” A “green light” was given for human habitation of the land after concerns were voiced about a former chemical complex on the site, according to the petition. The petition urges the the city instead to acquire the site and build an educational complex there, citing a “dire need of school seats for children of District 24, the most overcrowded school district in NYC.” “The location would serve as a good site to alleviate problems already present in District 24,” Masi said. “Building a school would be a great alternative for that site.” Photo by Jeff Stone A petition was started to turn proposed Glendale homeless site into a school complex.


QC09052014
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