14
QUEENS WEEKLY, FEB. 10, 2019
Hate crimes
ment to either charge
or prosecute him for a
hate crime.”
A meeting at Beth Gavriel
Jewish Center on Dec.
3, 2018, was also a source
of frustration, according
to Lancman, as members
of the Jewish community
attempted to persuade law
enforcement to see the
attack on Paltielov as a
hate crime since Paltielov
had no connection to
the assailants.
The Nov. 29, 2018, attack
took place near
Masbia of Queens, a kosher
food pantry, where
Paltielov was ganged up
on by more than 20 students
from Forest Hills
High School who may
have mistaken him for
a member of another
group who had previously
attacked them.
Waleska Mendez, who
was volunteering at the
soup kitchen, saw the
fracas and stepped in, in
an attempt to disperse
the crowd.
Jonathan Torres, 18,
and Victor Hidalgo, 17,
were taken into custody
days later and both were
charged with felony gang
assault following an investigation
by NYPD’s
City Councilman Rory Lancman calls for law enforcement to
crack down on hate crimes, which many at the rally said are
on the rise.
Hate Crimes Task Force
that determined that it
was not a case of bigotry.
“I’m angry, because
intimidation and violence
for practicing and living
one’s faith – one of our
most basic American values
– is under attack, here
in Queens, throughout
New York and across the
country,” U.S. Rep. Grace
Meng said. “So what gives
me hope? It is the partnerships
across faiths,
like this one between the
Jamaica Muslim Center,
the Bukharian Jewish
Community Center, and
Abraham’s Children Interfaith
Program that
serve as proof that we
will continue to work
shoulder to shoulder, as
a city and as one country,
to stand up for the right to
practice any faith freely
and proudly.”
NYPD stats show that
there were 31 anti-Semitic
hate crimes across the city
in October, which is an increase
from the 22 logged
in the same month the
year prior and includes
vandalizations depicting
swastikas, even while
overall crime rates drop.
Reach reporter Mark
Hallum by e-mail at mhallum@
schnepsmedia.com
or by phone at (718) 260–
4564.
Continued from Page 1
State Assemblyman Daniel Rosenthal speaks at the
Bukharian Jewish Community Center in Forest Hills.
Photos by Mark Hallum
Exhibit
balls to the project. Thirty
countries from around the
world are represented here
in the spirit of unity and
hope, and its lighting ushers
in the Lunar New Year.”
Professional U.S. teams
— the New York Mets, Yankees,
Phillies, and the Orioles
— donated baseballs
for the project, along with
teams from Canada, Central
America, Taiwan, Korea,
Japan, Europe and many
more. Some of the baseballs
are signed by legends and
the entire team.
“Sports and the arts,
both consisting of passion
and beauty, break the
boundaries between races,
languages and cultures,”
said Lin, who brings brilliant
works of art to life from
recycled materials. “This
project is not just about the
collection of baseballs. This
project symbolizes the ultimate
art that lies within
baseball, the power to bring
people together.”
Symbolizing the unity
and positive energy that art
and sports bring to the world,
The Tree of Hope project has
been two years in the making
from concept to installation,
according to Lin.
“The tree brings brightness,
happiness and joy,”
said Lin.
Lin’s goal is to acquire
support and funds from
baseball associations, sports
associations, sports brands,
and advertising agencies
around the world to pass on
The Tree of Hope spirit in
their “Light the World” plan.
“Baseball has brought
people together since the
late 14th century,” said Lin.
“Now, with baseball returning
to the 2020 Summer
Olympics Games in Tokyo,
it has established its global
status once again.”
First, the The Tree of
Hope will light up various
baseball stadiums in the
U.S., said Lin. After leaving
the U.S., the tree will
go to Asia into the 2020 Tokyo
Olympic Games, where
their trip to light the world
will be complete.
“Your penny can help
us raise funds to light the
world,” said Lin. “There are
many works of art on sale
which will contribute to this
project. We are also seeking
volunteers for our light the
world plan.”
Lin is also the artist-inresidence
at Crystal Park,
Thomas Chen and The
Crystal Foundation’s 200-
acre art and nature reserve
in Dutchess County. Lin
has exhibited extensively
throughout Japan, Taiwan
and New York. He attended
art school in Japan and
graduate school at New
York University.
Continued from Page 1
Cruelty
charges of second-degree
criminal mischief, overdriving,
torturing and injuring
animals, failure to provide
sustenance and aggravated
cruelty to animals. Jimenez
is currently being held on
$15,000 bail and is due to return
to court on May 3.
If convicted, Jimenez
faces up to seven years in
prison.
“The defendant allegedly
whacked a small, defenseless
animal that approached
the man when he
and a former friend got into
a physical altercation,” said
District Attorney Richard
Brown. “The 2-year-old
pup suffered severe injuries
to her face and right
eye. This kind of alleged
brutality against an eightpound
dog is both senseless
and heartless. The defendant
will be held accountable
for allegedly inflicting
immeasurable pain on this
poor animal.”
Jimenez got into an argument
with the brother
of the dog’s owner Dec. 20,
2018, after 9 p.m., according
to charges. After the fight,
Rikers
the dog owner’s mother witnessed
the eight-pound Chihuahua
type dog, named
Gigi, walk toward Jimenez.
Surveillance footage then
allegedly showed Jimenez
striking Gigi in the head
with a metal rod, causing
the 2-year-old dog to yelp
out in apparent pain.
Charges say that detectives
took Gigi to the ASPCA
on Dec. 21, where a
veterinarian completed a
comprehensive examination on
the dog.
The exam found that
Gigi had suffered severe
damage to her right eye and
a broken right cheekbone
and that her injuries were
consistent with having suffered
blunt force trauma to
the head.
As a result of Jimenez’s
alleged actions, Gigi now
lives with excruciating pain
and is permanently blind in
her right eye. The dog, according
to District Attorney
Brown, is still undergoing
treatment at the ASPCA
and may require surgery to
remove the damaged eye.
Reach reporter Emily
Davenport by e-mail at edavenport@
qns.com or by phone
at (718) 224-5863 ext. 236.
Continued from Page 1
“We will have a unique opportunity
to solve several
different environmental
problems that have bedeviled
us for decades.”
Namely, the section of
western Queens known as
“Asthma Alley,” which is
home to almost half of the
city’s power plants. Constantinides
said his office had begun
a collaboration with the
CUNY Law School Center for
Urban Environmental Reform
to “determine the best
use of space” from an environmental
perspective.
“Astoria resident and
professor Rebecca Bratspies
demonstrated that, based
off projections from the
Lippman Commission’s
report on Rikers Island,
renewables installed on the
island could be used to replace
most, if not all, of the
plants that have been built
in this city in the last two decades,”
Constantinides said.
“What’s more, this should
also leave us plenty of space
to build a new, state-of-theart
wastewater treatment
facility that would allow
us to potentially retire several
older sewage treatment
plants in north Queens and
the Bronx.”
Constantinides said his
plan would establish solar
or wind fields tied to largescale
batteries large enough
to store enough energy to
potentially power more
than two million homes.
“This is not some farflung
dream of a distant
future,” he said. “This is
within our grasp now, and
we need to begin the transition
away from these plants
now. Too much is at stake to
wait around any longer.”
Constantinides also
called on the city’s Department
of Transportation to
conduct a comprehensive
review of the 4.5-mile Astoria
Boulevard, which runs
from the RFK-Triborough
Bridge to Citi Field. Despite
efforts to keep large trucks
merging onto the Brooklyn
Queens Expressway,
the roadway has still seen
significant backups and accidents
in the past year.
The councilman also
proposed a new station
house with a parking
garage to replace the 50-
year-old home of the 114th
Precinct, recognizing the
current layout leads to
blocked intersections, sidewalks
and overpasses.
“This has created a traffic
nightmare around Astoria
Boulevard and 35th
Street,” Constantinides said.
“My office has fielded complaints
about this for years,
and trust me, we hear you.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry
by e-mail at bparry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone
at (718) 260–4538.
Continued from Page 1
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