14 THE QUEENS COURIER • YEAR IN REVIEW • DECEMBER 30, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
year in review
Queens’ top stories from April 2021
BY ANGÉLICA ACEVEDO
aacevedo@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
As we look forward to 2022, QNS is
looking back at the top stories throughout
2021.
Below are the top stories from the
month of April, which include new
chain stores opening in the borough for
the fi rst time, the infamous Whitestone
“Wolverine” indictment and the tragic
passing of a high-ranking NYPD offi cial,
among others.
New chain stores
open in Queens
Lidl, a discount grocery store, opened
its fi rst location in Queens on April 7, in
Astoria.
Th e new store is located at 19-30
37th St. Th e grocer, which originated in
Germany and now operates about 11,200
stores in 32 countries with headquarters
in Virginia, is known for its low prices and
high-quality products.
Queens Borough President Donovan
Richards joined store workers in their
grand opening ceremony.
“With the recent economic downturn
hitting Queens especially hard, we are
thrilled about the opening of Lidl discount
grocery in Astoria and are excited
that the store will off er good-paying jobs
that start at $17 an hour,” Richards said.
At Home, a major national home goods
store, opened its fi rst New York City location
at the Rego Center mall on April 21.
Th e new store is located on the second
fl oor of the mall, located at 61-35 Junction
Blvd. in Rego Park. Th e Texas-based retail
chain store, with more than 200 locations
across the country, is known for its unique
take on home decor.
High-ranking NYPD
offi cial takes his own
life near Kissena Park
Th e commander of a central Queens
police precinct, Deputy Inspector
Denis Mullaney, took his own life on
April 5 near Kissena Park inside a
department-issued vehicle, according
to published reports. Th e 44-year-old
headed the 107th Precinct, which covers
parts of Flushing, Fresh Meadows,
Pomonok, Hillcrest and Jamaica.
Mullaney was reportedly found with
a self-infl icted gunshot wound inside
a vehicle at the corner of Underhill
Avenue and 164th Street, near Kissena
Park, in Flushing.
EMS units rushed Mullaney to a
local hospital, but he was pronounced
dead a short time later. A candlelight
vigil was held on Mullaney’s honor
later that week.
“Devastated to learn of the tragic
loss of Deputy Inspector Denis
Mullaney who was just welcomed
as Commanding Offi cer of
the 107th Precinct not long ago,”
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic wrote on
Twitter.
Mullaney’s death is believed to be the
fi rst active-duty suicide of an NYPD
member in 2021. Th e department saw
10 suicides within its ranks in 2019,
and was racked by the COVID-19 pandemic
— with more than four dozen
civilian and uniformed members losing
their lives to the virus.
Whitestone ‘Wolverine’
indicted on attempted
murder charges after
threatening BLM
demonstrators
A Flushing man was indicted
on April 14 on nine counts
of attempted murder aft er
he allegedly threatened to
kill a small group of Black
Lives Matter protesters with
a Wolverine-type weapon in
Whitestone in the summer
of 2020.
Frank Cavalluzzi, 55, also
faces attempted assault, reckless
endangerment, reckless
driving and criminal possession
of a weapon charges
for threatening the group of
about a dozen racial justice
demonstrators in June 2020,
according to Queens District
Attorney Melinda Katz.
Cavalluzzi faced up to 25
years in prison for each of the
nine victims.
St. Francis Prep leads
Queens, Brooklyn in child
sex abuse lawsuits
More child sex abuse lawsuits were fi led
against St. Francis Preparatory School in
Fresh Meadows than any other Catholic
school in the Diocese of Brooklyn since
the passage of the state’s Child Victims
Act in 2019 through the end of 2020,
according to a recent analysis.
In the past two years, nearly 600 child
sex abuse lawsuits have been fi led against
the diocese, which covers Brooklyn and
Queens.
Th e institutions with the most lawsuits
are predominantly in Queens, including
St. Francis Prep, which counts 21 lawsuits
against nine perpetrators for abuse
that allegedly happened between 1959
and 2001.
In response to the report, diocese
spokesman John Quaglione said the
Diocese of Brooklyn “takes each of these
complaints seriously and cooperates fully
with any and all law enforcement investigations.”
“Most of these allegations are from
decades ago, which does not negate the
fact that the accused has the right to due
process under the law,” Quaglione said.
“We pray for all victims of sexual abuse
that they may be able to further heal and
be strengthened by God’s love for them.”
Photo courtesy of NYPD
Deputy Inspector Denis Mullaney
File photo from REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
St. Francis Preparatory School in Fresh Meadows.
Photo via Twitter/lambomursy
Frank Cavalluzzi was indicted on nine counts of attempted
murder in Queens Criminal Court on Wednesday, April 14,
2021.
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