FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 15, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 28
Astoria cop shoots machete-wielding man in domestic dispute
Man falls to his death in ‘tragic’ accident at Ridgewood Towers construction site
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A man fell to his death in an elevator shaft
on Wednesday aft ernoon at the Myrtle Point/
Ridgewood Towers development while working
at the construction site, which had received
multiple safety violations in the months leading
up to the tragedy.
Police said that at approximately 3 p.m. on
April 6, Holger Molino-Pinos, 45, fell down an
elevator shaft aft er slipping on a beam while
moving a plywood board. Molino-Pinos fell
down an approximately 20-foot hole into the
basement below. He was immediately transported
to Wyckoff Hospital where he was
pronounced dead shortly aft er.
According to NYC Department of Buildings
(DOB) spokesperson Ana Alcantara, the day
aft er the fall, DOB inspectors issued a full stop
work order with an impending investigation.
Th e Myrtle Point development, also known
as Ridgewood Towers, located at 3-50 St.
Nicholas Ave., will be 17 stories — making it
the tallest building in the area once completed.
Th e mixed-use building will be used for retail
and residential spaces.
According to the DOB, the fi rst four fl oors
will be dedicated to commercial use.
In the months leading up to this fatal incident,
DOB issued a total of eight violations
regarding safety conditions at the construction
site. Th ese violations could total thousands of
dollars in fi nes pending an Offi ce of Administrative
Trials and Hearings investigation.
One violation issued in March cited a
“failure to institute/maintain safety measures
resulting in worker injury due to inadequate
housekeeping at time of inspection.”
Ted Renz, the executive director of the
Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District,
said that this accident was a tragedy.
“We are deeply saddened by this tragic
accident and loss of life at this construction site,”
Renz said. “Th is is a major development in the
Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District
that will bring major retail and new housing
opportunities to the community.”
On March 23, just a couple of weeks before
the fatal fall, DOB issued safety violations aft er
another worker was injured due to “poor safety
conditions.”
Th e Ridgewood Towers project was originally
met with much opposition from the local community
and its leaders when it was proposed
over fi ve years ago.
Th e Ridgewood Tenants Union (RTU) also
took issue with the fact the project was delayed
for years.
In 2020, RTU organized an 11-car caravan
to protest outside the home of Meir Babaev, the
president of AB Capstone, in Jamaica Estates.
According to RTU, the developers’ neglect of
the property presented quality-of-life issues for
the neighborhood.
“Th e project has been stalled since 2015
while scaff olding has taken up the community’s
public space, created safety hazards for
pedestrians and accumulated piles of garbage
that make sidewalks unsanitary,” said a recent
statement from RTU. “Th is was a disaster
waiting to happen and the group demands
the project come to a complete halt until the
developers meet with the community and
be held accountable for the harm they have
caused thus far. “
QNS reached out to AB Capstone for comment
and is waiting for a response.
BY JULIA MORO, LLOYD MITCHELL
AND ROBERT POZARYCKI
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
A Queens cop shot and wounded a man
armed with a machete Monday morning while
responding to a domestic dispute, according
to NYPD.
NYPD offi cers from the 114th Precinct
responded to a 911 call in Astoria about an
“emotionally disturbed person armed with a
weapon,” at approximately 9:48 a.m. on April
11, according to police.
Th e 911 caller told the operator that she had
repeatedly asked the 27-year-old man, and the
father of their three-year-old child, to leave the
apartment, but he refused to do so. Th e man
had allegedly taken a lot of pills and said he
wanted to die, while holding a machete, according
to sources.
Four offi cers responded to the scene, near
33rd Street and Broadway within minutes,
explained Chief of Department Kenneth Corey.
“As offi cers were trying to remove people
from the apartment, the male confronted them
in a narrow hallway, holding the 911 caller’s
mother,” said Corey during an aft ernoon press
conference at the 114th Precinct stationhouse
in Astoria. “Aft er getting the older woman out
of the apartment, the offi cers deployed a taser.
Th e taser had no eff ect.”
One of the cops then fi red three gunshots,
striking the armed man in the groin area.
Offi cers immediately requested an ambulance.
According to Corey, EMT was on the scene
within two minutes providing “life-saving
measures.”
“Th e male was removed to Elmhurst Medical
Center where he is currently in surgery but
expected to recover,” Corey said. “Two offi cers
were removed to a local hospital for medical
evaluation. No one else was struck by gunfi re
and no other injuries were reported.”
Police have placed the man in custody, with
charges pending the results of an investigation.
According to Corey, the large machete was
recovered at the scene. Corey also said that the
three-year-old child was present, and offi cers
will be required to report this incident to the
Administration for Children’s Services.
“Th ere is a rather extensive domestic history
between the 911 caller and the subject,” Corey
said. “Th ere have been multiple allegations of
domestic assault, harassment, orders of protection
have been in eff ect. Th ose orders have been
violated on multiple occasions.”
Th e subject also has a prior arrest for assaulting
a police offi cer, according to Corey.
Th e offi cers were wearing body cameras at
the time of the confrontation and the footage
will be reviewed as part of further investigation.
Th e information provided by the NYPD is
preliminary and subject to change as an investigation
continues.
Even so, the suspect’s girlfriend, Brianna
Cortez, 24, told reporters Monday that they
“plan on suing the Police Department.”
“What they did was unjust,” she said.
Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Offi cials show a photo of the machete that was recovered by NYPD.
Rendering courtesy of AB Capstone
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