FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM SEPTEMBER 21, 2017 • THE QUEENS COURIER 19
CB 7 wants action on Willets
Point after decade of non-starts
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
While the future of a long-awaited
Willets Point development project in
Flushing remains in the balance, community
members at a special meeting on
Sept. 18 made it clear they want to see
action as soon as possible.
Aft er a court decision put the future of
the Willets Point development in limbo,
Community Board 7 met with a representative
for the project’s developer
— Queens Development Group LLC
(QDG) — at a contract-mandated quarterly
meeting in June.
Members of the board’s Building and
Zoning Committee were openly critical of
the New York City Economic Development
Corporation’s (NYCEDC) failure to send a
representative to the meeting and followed
up with a letter to EDC outlining their
complaints. Two weeks later, the city agency’s
President James Patchett responded
with his own letter, claiming EDC was
notifi ed about the meeting on short notice
and remains committed to seeing the project
move forward.
At the Sept. 18 session, all three parties
were present to discuss any updates.
Th ough the EDC representative admitted
there was “not much to report,” he
did present images of extensive demolition
work conducted at the site while
the city agency waited on the outcome of
the court case. A total of 48 structures on
33 lots have been demolished and taken
down to grade, according to EDC.
“While we were waiting for the court
process to unfold, we were not just resting
on our laurels,” the representative said.
He also noted that the contract has a
provision that allows both the city and
the developer the option to terminate the
agreement with notice. However, right
now, QDG still remains the developer
on record.
Th e legal representative for QDG,
Ethan Goodman from Fox Rothschild,
said the joint venture between Sterling
Equities and Related Companies and the
city still have the option to pursue alienation,
which would allow the Willets
West component to move forward. It
remains unclear whether either party will
pursue this route.
Aft er the EDC presentation, Committee
Chairperson Chuck Apelian reiterated
the board’s demand to be more included
in the process.
“We want to be involved with EDC,
with the mayor’s offi ce,” Apelian said.
“We’ve given a lot of input and a lot of
support in the past — but what seems
to happen over the past is that EDC will
come and go ... We don’t want to be
patronized anymore. We want to be part
of this process.”
“We don’t want this to take another 10
years,” member Joe Sweeney added. “And
if you’re having conversation, as Chuck
said, we want to be informed.”
Th e EDC representative said the agency
continues to work to ready the site for
development and is remains dedicated to
remediating the site and building aff ordable
housing.
“We want a time frame and a time limit
for everyone to decide whether or not
they’re gonna proceed and pursue alienation,
or the current plan that this board
and everybody has on the table,” Apelian
said. “Th e doors have to be wide open.”
Th e groups will meet again in January.
Agents seize record-breaking stash of deadly fentanyl from Kew Gardens apt.
BY ANGELA MATUA
amatua@qns.com / @AngelaMatua
Approximately 140 pounds of the
deadly synthetic drug responsible for the
massive increase in overdoses around
the country was recovered from a Kew
Gardens home last month, prosecutors
announced on Monday.
According to Bridget G. Brennan, the
city’s special narcotics prosecutor, two
people were arrested on Aug. 1 aft er
New Jersey DEA agents and the Queens
Narcotics Major Case Squad found several
suitcases and a purse stuff ed with the
deadly drug.
Agents and detectives from both agencies
followed Blanca Flores-Solis, 52,
and Rogelio Alvarado-Robles, 55, as
they drove a silver Mercedes Benz with
Florida license plates to a Walmart in
Manahawkin, N.J. In the parking lot,
Alvarado-Robles took a shopping bag
from an unidentifi ed male and followed
Flores-Solis inside the store.
Agents saw Alvarado-Robles place the
shopping bag into a book bag that Flores-
Solis was wearing. Soon aft er, the duo
drove away and made several stops before
traveling to their apartment at 85-15
120th St. in Kew Gardens.
Detectives secured and then executed a
search warrant to enter the apartment at
9 p.m. on Aug. 1. During the search, they
found four suitcases and a purse containing
97 kilogram-sized packages fi lled with
drugs. A total of 213 pounds of drugs
were recovered and an NYPD laboratory
analysis found that of 97 packages found,
86 contained fentanyl.
In addition to 64 kilograms of pure fentanyl,
22 kilograms contained fentanyl
mixed with heroin, the synthetic opioid
tramadol and the tranquilizer ketamine.
According to Brennan, this is the largest
seizure of fentanyl to date in the city.
Fentanyl is extremely deadly; a two- or
three-milligram dose can be lethal, and
the 64 kilograms seized could have lead
to approximately 32 million deadly doses.
Alvarado-Robles and Flores-Solis were
each charged with two counts of fi rst-degree
criminal possession of a controlled
substance and two counts of third-degree
criminal possession of a controlled
substance.
“Th e sheer volume of fentanyl pouring
into the city is shocking,” Brennan said.
“It’s not only killing a record number of
people in New York City, but the city is
used as a hub of regional distribution for
a lethal substance that is taking thousands
of lives throughout the Northeast.”
According to the New York City
Department of Health and Mental
Hygiene, fentanyl is responsible for the
large spike in fatal overdoses in the city.
In 2016, 1,374 people died from opioid
overdoses – 46 percent more than
in 2015.
Another investigation on Sept. 5 led
detectives to seize 55 pounds of narcotics
from a car in the Bronx. An analysis
found that 54 pounds contained a fentanyl
and heroin mixture and the remaining
pound was pure fentanyl.
Th e fentanyl, heroin and cocaine seized
from both locations have a street value of
more than $30 million.
Bronx residents Edwin Guzman, 35,
and Manuel Rivera-Santana, 32, were
charged with one count of second-degree
conspiracy, one count of fi rst-degree
criminal possession of a controlled
substance and one count of third-degree
criminal possession of a controlled substance.
“We are facing a new and increasingly
deadly crisis in our communities,”
said Queens District Attorney Richard
A. Brown. “Heroin mixed with the synthetic
drug fentanyl is a deadly cocktail.
As a result, we’ve seen staggering numbers
of fatal overdoses – far outpacing
homicides in Queens. Th ese two investigations
that led to the seizure of these
drugs will undoubtedly save lives and we
will continue to work diligently with our
law enforcement partners to combat this
growing epidemic.”
Photos courtesy of NYC Special Narcotics Prosecutor
A total of 213 pounds of drugs were recovered from a Kew Gardens home last month.