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QUEENS WEEKLY, JANUARY 26, 2020
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Police continue to investigate
an act of vandalism
at a Bayside church and
school, in which an unknown
suspect graffitied
the name of the MS-13 gang
on both of the buildings.
The Diocese of Brooklyn
recently released surveillance
video of the vandal
defacing the entrance
of Sacred Heart of Jesus
Catholic Church and Catholic
Academy in the early
morning of Jan. 12.
Video showed the
masked suspect walking
up to the church and school
before using a can of spray
paint. The suspect tagged
“MS-13” on the walls near
the main entrance of the
church and “MS” on the
Academy school doors.
“My initial reaction
when I heard about the
vandalism was that I didn’t
know what to expect. I
thought maybe windows
were broken or our nativity
had been vandalized and
so in a sense, I was relieved
that the damage to the
church was not more significant,”
said Monsignor
Thomas Machalski, pastor
of Sacred Heart of Jesus
Roman Catholic Church,
which is located at 215-35
38th Ave. in Bayside.
Police from the 111th
Precinct, in conjunction
with the Hate Crimes Task
Force, are currently investigating
this incident and
there have been no arrests.
According to the Diocese
of Brooklyn, the parish
has security cameras
monitoring the school entrance
and is looking into
installing cameras at the
church’s entrance.
MS-13, also known as
“Mara Salvatrucha,” is a
Los Angeles-based street
gang made up of immigrants
from El Salvador,
which originated in the
1970s and 1980s. Its original
purpose was to protect
Salvadoran immigrants
from other gangs in LA.
“To the perpetrator, I
would encourage them to
find something more constructive
to do with their
time and energy, because
the time they wasted on
doing something like this,
could be spent doing something
good,” Monsignor
Machalski said in a statement.
Machalski told The Tablet
that he does not believe
these were targeted attacks
as cops found similar graffiti
on neighboring garage
doors and fences.
Anyone with information
is asked to call Crime
Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS
(8477) or for Spanish, 888-
57-PISTA (74782). The public
can also submit their
tips by logging onto the
CrimeStoppers website or
on Twitter @NYPDTips.
Reach reporter Jenna
Bagcal by e-mail at jbagcal@
qns.com or by phone at
(718) 260-2583.
MS-13 spray painted near the entrance of
Sacred Heart of Jesus Catholic Church.
Screenshot from video by Currents News/NET-TV
Elizabeth Crowley leads the Queens borough president field in fundraising and cash on hand. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Elizabeth Crowley leads BP
candidates in fundraising
BY MAX PARROTT
With just over two
months to go before the
Queens borough president
special election on March
24, disclosures published
by the New York City Campaign
Finance Board (NYCCFB)
last week provided
a fiscal snapshot of where
each of the candidates
stand.
The filings singled out
one clear breadwinner. Out
of the $284,157 that the candidates
have collectively
raked in over the past six
months, former Ridgewood
Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley topped the field
in fundraising. She also
boasted the most cash on
hand out of the group.
Councilman Donovan
Richards has done the second
most fundraising over
the past six months, but
has only raised about half
as much as Crowley.
The fundraising totals
compiled by the New York
City Campaign Finance
Board over the past six
months from greatest to
least are as follows:
• Crowley has raised
$104,797 since July 15 and
has $219,894 to spend.
• Richards has raised
$58,384 since July 15 and
has $126,758 to spend.
• Retired NYPD sergeant
Anthony Miranda has
raised $39,970 since July
15 and has $13,768 to
spend.
• Dao Yin, a robotics
company executive, has
raised $32,466 and has
$8,581 to spend.
• Councilman Costa
Constantinides raised
$19,507 since July 15 and
has $14,348 to spend.
• Former Assistant District
Attorney Jim Quinn
raised $11,498 prior to
the deadline, but reportedly
has burned through
it all. According to the
filings, he’s in the red by
$632.
• Mapmaker Danniel
Maio cut himself a
check for $175 and spent
$90 of it, leaving him
$85 in his campaign
coffers.
Since all eight candidates
have opted in to the
NYCCFB’s matching program,
they have agreed not
to accept a donation larger
than $750. Since the legislation
dictates that they
receive 8-1 match for all
donations under this limit,
several candidates have
had to refund large chunks
of their donations.
A few notably large donations
are included in
those refunds, which date
back before the City Council
revised the matching
program limits for special
elections over the summer.
Richards had to refund a
$4,100 of a donation to Taxpayers
for Affordable New
York, a Real Estate Board of
New York-affiliated PAC.
Asked for comment,
Richards’ spokesperson
did not remark on the real
estate affiliation, although
the councilman has previously
stated publicly
that he doesn’t believe
that his integrity would
ever be compromised by
donations from the real
estate industry — which
make up nearly 30 percent
of his donations,
according to the Real
Deal.
“To ensure compliance
with the campaign finance
board, the excess was returned
to the contributor,”
the spokesperson said.
Several of Crowley’s
largest refunds went back
to contributors associated
with J.T. Magen & Company,
a construction firm that
has traditionally relied on
union labor. On Jan. 10, 2019,
Robert Scheiman, the company’s
principal and Maurice
Regan, its CEO gave the
campaign $3,950. Anticipating
the matching program
limits, Crowley gave back a
total of $6,400 between those
donations.
Crowley distinguished
the construction-related
donations from the real
estate industry, which she
has vowed not to take donations
from. She said the
connection goes back to
her union days.
“I’m proud of my roots,”
Crowley told QNS. “Not
only was my union job
making sure that I got paid
a fair wage, my friends
who worked with me 20
years ago are still my
supporters.”
Constantinides had to
refund $3,600 to Sal Lucchese,
a manager at Astoria
based developer The L
Group, who gave $4,350 to
his campaign in January
of 2019.
Constantinides’ spokesperson
did not comment
on the donation. But in a
previous report on that
contribution, the councilman
acknowledged taking
real estate donations but
said that he doesn’t take
donations what he defines
as “Big Real Estate developers.”
The next campaign finance
filing deadline is
Feb. 21.
Reach reporter Max Parrott
by e-mail at mparrott@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260-2507.
Cops seek vandal
who tagged MS-13
graffi ti in Bayside
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