FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 30, 2021 • YEAR IN REVIEW • THE QUEENS COURIER 13
year in review
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
A 57-year-old man was found dead with a gunshot wound to his chest inside a car in Howard Beach
Queens’ top stories from March 2021
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@schnepsmedia.com
@jenna_bagcal
As the year comes to a close, take a
look back at QNS’ top stories from March
2021, from local crime and restaurant
openings to the creation of COVID-19
vaccine sites and court cases.
Flushing small business owner
takes action against DoorDash
over fraud allegation
At the beginning of March, QNS reported
on DoorDash terminating A-Crepe’s
merchant license over suspected fraudulent
activity. According to the shop’s owners,
the food delivery service had withdrawn
a total of $46,700 earned from sales
and proceeds without notice and terminated
the restaurant’s account days later
without any explanation.
“All within one day, without warning.
Aft er that occurred we were really confused,”
Eric Leung said on behalf of his
business partner and owner David Liu.
“Th is is literally months and months of
revenue — we have rent, bills and other
expenses to pay and we can’t aff ord to
without this money.”
Leung went on to say that since
DoorDash had access to A-Crepe’s
account number, the company pulled the
funds using an automated clearing house
transfer (ACH). Liu and Leung were able
to recover $32,000 aft er the pair disputed
it with Bank of America and fi lled out an
affi davit saying that the ACH transfer was
unauthorized. Th e remaining $14,000 in
funds were still withheld by DoorDash.
Despite contacting DoorDash for an
explanation as to why their account was
canceled without notice, a company representative
reportedly cited “fraudulent
activity” but no further information.
“Th e only specifi cs we can provide is
that the terms of services have been violated
through fraud and when that happens,
they will not reactivate the store.
I apologize for the inconvenience,” a
DoorDash representative told A-Crepe in
a Jan. 19 email.
Following the ordeal, Leung gave a message
to all small business owners: Don’t be
afraid to speak up.
“If we can do it, then anyone can
do it. I just want people to stand up
for what is right, and that’s all for the
power of community. We will stand
together for what’s right and tell those
big companies we’re not going to get
bullied,” Leung said.
Missing Kew Gardens woman
found dead inside wooded
area of Forest Park: NYPD
A young Kew Gardens woman named
Meghan Stecher was found dead in Forest
Park, just days aft er she was reported
missing.
Stecher’s body was reportedly found
inside an area of the park about 100 yards
north of Forest Park Drive, near the Long
Island Rail Road’s Lower Montauk Brach,
around 10:30 p.m. on March 2.
Th e Austin Street resident was reported
missing at the end of February and was
last seen alive at her home on Feb. 25.
Police said that EMS personnel pronounced
her dead at the scene. Th ere were
reportedly no visible signs of trauma to
her body and cops were investigating her
cause of death.
Sources familiar with the investigation
said that Stecher was known to frequent
Forest Parks and nature trails in and
around Willow and Meadow lakes in
Flushing Meadows Corona Park.
NYC Sheriff ’s Offi ce shuts down
illegal rave at radioactive
Superfund site in Ridgewood
Th e NYC Sheriff ’s Offi ce broke up an
illegal rave at a Ridgewood warehouse,
which was also a radioactive Superfund
site.
According to reports, law enforcement
responded to 1133 Irving Ave. at about
1:40 a.m. on March 6. Th e site is part of
the 3/4-acre EPA-designated Wolff -Alport
Superfund Zone, where there had been
ongoing eff orts to clean up radioactive
contamination.
Th e sheriff ’s offi ce said that it had gotten
a tip-off about a potential rave and they
spotted a large number of people entering
the warehouse that night.
Upon entering, law enforcement witnessed
at least 142 people dancing and
drinking alcohol without face masks. To
top it off , the location also did not have a
valid liquor license or a valid certifi cate of
occupancy.
Reports indicated that the sheriff ’s offi ce
cleared the party out without incident.
City opens new COVID-19
vaccination site at
Flushing Library
In the fi ght against the pandemic, the
city partnered with Queens Public Library
to off er COVID-19 vaccines at Flushing
Library, located at 41-17 Main St.
“With more supply coming online, we are
expanding the number of sites to serve the
people of our city across the fi ve boroughs,”
de Blasio said. “Th is new partnership with
Queens Public Library will help us put shots
in the arms of Queens residents right in the
heart of their communities.”
Back in March, the library began off ering
more than 200 vaccine appointments
per day, with dedicated appointments for
eligible Queens residents. At the time,
Queens Public Library President and
CEO Dennis Walcott said that the library
was positioned to serve as a site where
the vaccine could be distributed to “high
numbers of people, given its standing as a
trusted center of community, prominent
location, heavy foot traffi c and convenient
access to public transportation.”
Group of teens attacks
13-year-old Asian American
boy in suspected hate
crime in Flushing
On March 16, a 13-year-old Asian
American boy was playing at Bowne
Playground when he got into an argument
with three other teen boys, according to an
NYPD report.
Th e three boys shoved the 13-year-old
to the ground and proceeded to take turns
throwing a basketball at the boy’s head,
cops said.
Reports said that one of the attackers
berated the boy, saying, “Stupid f––g
Chinese. Go back to your country,” before
running off .
Th e boy, who had suff ered injuries to
his head during the beating, was taken to
Flushing Hospital in stable condition.
According to reports, the attack was the
latest in an alarming trend of anti-Asian hate
crimes in the borough, city and country.
Just days before, an Asian American
mother was walking near a Fresh Meadows
part with her young child, when an unidentifi
ed man spit in her direction and called
her the “Chinese virus.”
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Jim.henderson on Friday, March 12, 2021.
Photo by Eric Leung
David Liu says DoorDash claims he violated the
food delivery company’s terms of service but
didn’t provide an explanation.
Photo courtesy of NYC Sheriff ’s Offi ce
The sheriff ’s offi ce raided an illegal rave on
March 6, 2021, inside a warehouse located within
a Superfund site in Queens.
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