16
QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 12, 2019
Schools, bus riders big winners in Adams budget vote
Burglar steals $800 in tools from Glendale
April 27, an unknown man
broke into the garage at a
27-year-old man’s home,
located in the vicinity
of 62nd Street and 78th
Avenue. Once inside, the
suspect took approximately
$800 worth of tools.
At this time, it is not
clear how the suspect
gained access to the
garage. The suspect was
last seen fleeing the scene
northbound on 62nd
Street.
The 104th Precinct
tweeted out photos of the
suspect on May 7:
“This suspect is
#WANTED for Burglary
by the 104 Detectives.
He entered a residential
garage and removed $800
worth of tools. Then fled
on foot down 62 Street
towards 78 Ave. If anyone
has any information on
this incident or individual
call 718-386-2723. pic.
twitter.com/T85I7GJAHL
— NYPD 104th Precinct
(@NYPD104Pct) May 7,
2019”
Anyone with
information about the
burglary can call the
104th Precinct at 718-386-
2723. All calls are kept
confidential.
Reach reporter
Emily Davenport by
e-mail at edavenport@
qns.com or by phone at
(718) 224-5863 ext. 236.
Continued from Page 1
Apartment
argued that abuse of MCIs
lead to tenants being priced
out of their homes.
“Many landlords
have benefitted from
and abused loopholes in
the current rent laws to
systematically displace
thousands of tenants
from their homes,”
Chhaya CDC Community
Organizer Rima Begum
said. “Zara Realty
is just one corporate
landlord that will inflate
the costs on Major
Capital Improvements,
increasing rents to
exorbitant levels. We need
to drastically rethink
our housing laws, and
eliminate MCI.”
Zara Realty defended
its practices saying
all MCIs are approved
by the state’s Homes &
Community Renewal
office after a lengthy and
thorough review and adds
that tenants also have a
cwhance to review and
comment on MCI plans
prior to construction.
“The company
purchases older buildings,
many of which have a long
history of neglect by prior
owners, and invests in new
infrastructure, including
boilers, windows, facades
and roofs, security
systems, renovations
to individual units and
other amenities, all in the
service of creating highquality
affordable housing
for tenants,” the company
said in a statement. “The
company has never sold
a building it purchased
in Queens. Zara is
proud to invest in its
properties for the benefit
of tenants.”
Reach reporter Bill
Parry by email at
boarry@schnepsmedia.
com or by phone at (718)
260–4538.
Continued from Page 1
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (c.) rallies in Jamaica
against Zara Realty’s use of MCIs to evict tenants.
Courtesy of Public Advocate’s office
Photo via Twitter/@NYPD104Pct
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Schools, libraries
and commuters were
the big winners in City
Councilwoman Adrienne
Adams’ first-ever
participatory budgeting
vote held in her southeast
Queens district.
Adams represents
the communities of
Jamaica, Rochdale
Village, Richmond Hill
and South Ozone Park,
where residents voted
for technology and
infrastructure upgrades
at schools, libraries,
and installation of time
clocks at bus stops.
The Participatory
Budgeting vote cycle
empowers local residents
to vote for project
proposals developed by
community stakeholders
that they would like to
see funded, according
to Adams.
Voters were able to
choose their top five
selections out of 20 project
proposals to decide how
to spend over $1 million
of public money.
“As the representative
of diverse communities, I
have seen Participatory
Budgeting provide a
path to civic engagement
for people who are
often excluded from
the decision-making
processes,” said Adams.
“Having power to create
proposals and put them
on a ballot for a public
vote is a powerful tool
to bring neighbors
together, to bring more
transparency to our
public funding and to
make sure that decisions
are in the interest
of a broad set of
community members.”
Along with
traditional paper
ballots, residents were
also able to vote online.
The sole identification
requirement was proof
of residency in the
district, removing
traditional obstacles to
full civic participation
such as youth, income
status, English-language
proficiency and
citizenship status.
The winning projects
with an allocated amount
of $1,353,000 below
received the highest
number of votes for
the 28th City Council
District were:
• Technology upgrades
for P.S. 48, P.S. 55, P.S. 161,
M.S. 72 and M.S. 332
($175,000)
• Bathroom
r e n o v a t i o n s
at P.S. 40, P.S. 45, P.S. 55,
and P.S. 80 ($400,000)
• Water fountains with
bottle refill at J.H.S. 226
and P.S. 55 ($48,000)
• Five real time rider
information at bus stops
in District 28 ($200,000)
• Technology upgrades
for Baisley and Rochdale
libraries ($160,000)
• Technology upgrades
for Lefferts and South
Ozone Park Library
($170,000)
• Renovation of student
lounge at Richmond Hill
High School ($200,000)
Reach reporter
Carlotta Mohamed by
email at cmohamed@
schnepsmedia.com or by
phone at (718) 260–4526.
City Councilwoman Adrienne Adams Courtesy of Adrienne Adams
/schnepsmedia.com
/qns.com
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