26 THE QUEENS COURIER • NOVEMBER 7, 2013 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com VERIZON WORKERS BECOME HEROES BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] Three Queens-bred heroes thwarted a rape in Flushing last week by chasing, catching and sitting on the attacker until cops arrived. Verizon technicians Michael Popowich, Anthony Howley and John Gilday were fi nishing up a job at 150- 24 Northern Boulevard on October 30 when they saw a man lurking across the street around noon. They said the alleged assailant, identifi ed by police as 53-year-old Young Song, ran up to a woman who was leaving a corner café and put his hand on her waist. “It’s a busy area. I didn’t really think much of it,” said Popowich, 50, who was born and raised in Astoria. “At fi rst we weren’t sure anything was amiss. We thought maybe he was a friend.” But then the man “got a lot more aggressive and physical with her” and allegedly pushed her down to the ground, they claimed. “She had a skirt on. He put his hand up her skirt and proceeded to pull her underwear down,” Popowich claimed. “No one did anything.” The three technicians shouted, but the noise did not scare him off, said Gilday, 53, of Douglaston. “When we yelled at him, he didn’t even move,” Gilday said. “As we were walking over to him, that’s when he ran.” The trio sprang into action and chased the man, who ran onto the street. They caught him and brought him to his knees, they said. “The three of us manhandled him back onto the sidewalk,” Popowich said. “We sat on him with all of our weight until the police showed up.” Song, a Flushing resident, was arrested and charged with rape, sexual abuse and unlawful imprisonment, police said. He did not know the victim before allegedly attacking her, the victim told her rescuers. “It was surreal to see something happening like this in broad daylight in the middle of Northern,” said Howley, 41, of Forest Hills. “It was basic instincts that kicked in to help this woman.” The good Samaritans said the act was not heroic. “We just reacted,” Gilday said. “I have daughters, a wife, sisters — I hope if something like that was happening to them, someone would do something about it. I don’t want to see that happen to anybody.” THE COURIER/Photo by Melissa Chan Verizon technicians Michael Popowich, Anthony Howley and John Gilday stopped a rape in Flushing. Board OKs Chevy expansion BY MELISSA CHAN [email protected] Community Board 11 granted the East Hills Chevrolet in Douglaston permission to build a parking deck and expand its showcase to display six more new cars. The car dealership at 240-02 Northern Boulevard, originally constructed in 1954, needed to grow in order to be “competitive in the market” and “meet new standards of Chevrolet,” according to the building’s architect, Gerald Caliendo. “In order to keep a dealership, you have to keep up with the Joneses and accommodate the look of the building,” Caliendo said. The small automobile showroom can currently hold two cars. An expansion to the west of the building would allow a total of eight brand new vehicles to be displayed, dealership representatives said. “We don’t really have a history of complaints with the business or site at all,” said Joseph Sollano, chair of the board’s Douglaston Zoning Committee. “It seems that what they’re asking for is somewhat minor and understandable.” Construction, slated to take about four to six months, will be fenced off and contained within the property, Caliendo said. Dealership offi cials said it will not obstruct adjacent properties or traffi c. About 20 more parking spots for employees and customers would be created with the deck, offi cials said. I’M WAITING FOR YOU! OPEN EVERY DAY 365 - DAYS! 10AM - 9PM FRI & SAT TIL 10 PM 25 DAVIS AVENUE PORT WASHINGTON, NY NORTH SHORE ANIMAL LEAGUE AMERICA HAS OVER 300 LOVING PUPPIES, KITTENS, DOGS & CATS! AnimalLeague.org 516.883.7575 Home of the Mutt-i-gree® facebook.com/TheAnimalLeague Get Paid Get Treatment Help Find a Cure Search and enroll in a local study on ZipTrials.us Powered by Like us on Legally Speaking By: Scott Baron, Attorney at Law HIS SISTER’S KEEPER Q: I was standing in the lobby of the building and heard a commotion in the rear courtyard, which is next to a parking lot. The fight involved loud arguing and cursing. I observed a male with his hands on my sister’s face, and heard my sister calling for help. I immediately walked outside and approached them. He punched me in the head, sending me to the ground. I got back up and banged his head against the concrete floor several times. We fought for a while. Eventually, others broke up the fight. Then I saw someone hand our enemy a gun. He shot adn paralyzed me. A: The building owner will argue that, even if it was negligent in securing the building, its negligence did not proximately cause your injuries: your voluntary participation in the fight was a ‘superseding cause’. The security company will argue that it was in full compliance with its contractual obligations, i.e. to have a guard in the security booth and others patrolling the building. The company will contend that it had no contractual duty to secure the building, without fail, or physically to intervene ni fights. The courts of New York have held that one who voluntarily participates in a physical fight cannot recover from a party generally charged with maintaininga safe environment. Your willing participation in the fight negates any negligence committed by a defendant with a duty to provide security. Even assuming that the building owner or the security company failed to provide reasonable security, the reasoning is that you could have remained elsewhere at the time of the fight. Unless there is something that you have failed to tell me, I am afraid that, in choosing to join the fight, the courts will hold that you ‘severed any causal connection’ arising from the defendants’ negligence in providing reasonable security. Take this case to an attorney: there may be other details, which can help you.This article shall not be construed as legal advice. Advertorial The law responds to changed conditions; exceptions and variations abound. Here, the information is general; always seek out competent counsel.This article shall not be construed as legal advice Copyright © 2013 Scott Baron & Associates, P.C. All rights reserved. 159-49 Cross Bay Boulevard, Howard Beach, New York 11414 1750 Central Park Ave, Yonkers, NY 10710 718-738-9800, 914-337-9800, 1-866-927-4878
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