6
QUEENS WEEKLY, MAY 12, 2019
BY MARK HALLUM
A proposed daycare site
in Glendale may be inching
closer to being a reality
after a recent hearing at
Queens Borough Hall.
Akerman LLP is
requesting a special
permit from the Board of
Standards and Appeals
for a client of theirs to
build a 15,212 square feet
facility at 79-40 Cooper
Ave. Thursday’s hearing,
part of the city’s Uniform
Land Use Review Process,
paves the way for Borough
President Melinda Katz to
make a recommendation
for or against the project.
After going before
Community Board 5’s Land
Use Committee and the full
board in recent months,
civic leaders expressed
concern over pick-ups and
drop-offs causing backup
on Cooper Avenue.
But Nora Martins, a land
use attorney representing
the developers, said at the
May 2 Borough Hall hearing
that they have been working
with the city Department
of Transportation (DOT)
which has been “productive”
in strategizing to
mitigate traffic.
Councilman Robert
Holden also gave the project
his own seal of approval
after issuing a letter to the
BSA in which he claimed
the daycare facility would
be a welcome addition to
the community.
“The applicant’s plan
for the redevelopment of
this long-vacant site with
a new building to house
the proposed daycare and
new commercial space
is a welcome addition to
the Glendale community
and to the Cooper Avenue
streetscape,” Holden said
in the letter to the BSA.
“I do not believe that the
proposed daycare and
commercial uses at the
site will create significant
traffic issues. In particular,
the daycare’s proposed
operations and more than
sufficient on-site parking
should result in minimal
if any negative effect
on traffic.”
According to Holden,
surrounding area is in
need of reliable daycare
options, but he will
monitor the situation after
it opens to ensure traffic is
not disrupted.
Martins said on May
2 the facility will be
subject to DOT School
Safety Division and under
review within the BSA
approval process.
The site falls within an
M1 industrial zone, but
children’s facilities are
not out of ordinary for the
block where directly across
the street from 79-40 Cooper
Ave. is a gymnastic center
and a dance studio under
different zoning.
The same developers are
working to build a storage
facility in the adjacent lot,
but claim they will take all
measure to ensure there
is no conflict between
the two.
The proposal will be
two stories and includes
15 classrooms with a
playground on the roof.
There could be 31 spaces on
the lot.
There are also two single
story commercial spaces
attached, which there are
no leases for at this time,
according to Martins.
Katz was not present
at the hearing, Deputy
Borough President Sharon
Lee presided in her place.
The developers plan to
have the facility up and
running before the 2020
school year.
Three men indicted for
College Point murder
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
The three men allegedly
connected to a deadly
shooting at a College Point
parking lot last October
have been indicted for
second-degree murder
and additional charges,
prosecutors announced on
May 3.
Brooklyn residents
Brandon Lee, 24, Daijan
Palmer, 26, and Darvin
Guiteau, 24, are accused
of participating in the Oct.
1, 2018 murder of Jaquan
Campbell, 25, inside the
College Point multiplex
parking lot. According
to law enforcement
sources, the shooting
stemmed from a dispute
involving Campbell
and the suspects at a
nearby strip club earlier
that morning.
“In a mob-styled hit,
the men accused in this
indictment went after an
entourage of four cars
leaving a strip club in
Queens last October,” Chief
Assistant District Attorney
John Ryan said on May
3. “This was a brutal and
calculated killing. This
kind of lawless gun violence
will not be tolerated in
our community.”
Authorities said the
trouble began early on the
morning of Oct. 1, 2018 at
Angels Strip Club, located
at 32-17 College Point Blvd.
in Flushing. Published
reports indicated that
Campbell had been
involved in an altercation
at the club before leaving
with his girlfriend.
At around 3:24 a.m.
that morning, prosecutors
said, Campbell and his
girlfriend were inside a
black Lexus being pursued
by a black BMW, occupied
by four men, three of
whom were wearing
masks. The BMW driver
intentionally crashed into
the Lexus at the multiplex
parking lot, in the vicinity
of Ulmer Street and the
Whitestone Expressway.
Law enforcement
sources said that Campbell
was able to drive a couple
of blocks, then stopped
to inspect the damage.
The BMW then pulled up,
and the four men jumped
out of the vehicle. One of
them pulled out a gun and
started firing at Campbell
near his car.
More than 40 rounds in
all were fired, according
to Ryan.
Campbell was hit
multiple times in the
chest and later died of his
injuries. His girlfriend was
uninjured.
Following the gunfire,
the four men abandoned
their BMW and forced
Campbell’s companion out
of the Lexus. Then then
hopped into the car and
took off along Ulmer Street
to the intersection of 120th
Street and 26th Avenue,
where they ditched the
vehicle and fled.
Officers from the 109th
Precinct responded to the
incident and launched
an investigation with the
NYPD Queens North
Homicide Squad.
Detectives picked up
Palmer and Guiteau two
weeks later on Oct. 14,
while Lee was apprehended
in Miami, Florida a
week later.
All three men remain
held without bail and must
return to court on May 20.
They each face up to 25
years to life behind bars
if convicted.
Ryan added that a
fourth man is currently in
custody out of state, and his
extradition back to Queens
is pending.
79-40 Cooper Ave. Photo: Mark Hallum/QNS
Jaquan Campbell’s body lies on Ulmer St. after he was shot to
death on Oct. 1. Photo by Robert Stridiron
Proposed daycare
gets nod from offi cial
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