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QUEENS WEEKLY, JULY 28, 2019
Mystery surrounds In-N-Out burger found in Jamaica
BY EMILY DAVENPORT AND
MAX PARROTT
A perfectly wrapped
burger that appears to be
from the popular West
Coast chain In-N-Out was
spotted on a Jamaica street
over the weekend.
New York Post first
reported that at 6:30 a.m.
on July 20, Lincoln Boehm,
a self-proclaimed In-N-Out
fanatic, was with his wife
when they decided to kill
some time before catching
a train at the Jamaica Long
Island Rail Road station. As
they were walking down
Sutphin Boulevard to the
nearby McDonald’s, Boehm
saw something that he
claims will haunt him until
his death.
Sitting on the road was
a wrapped double-double
from In-N-Out, a popular
fast food chain that does
not have locations east
of Kansas City, let alone
in Queens.
“The thing that shocked
me was how pristine and
perfect the burger looked,”
said Boehm. While he
believes that somebody
must have brought the
burger with them on the
plane–maybe a private jet–
he was astonished by the
structural of the integrity
of the ingredients. “This
one looked like it had
come off the grill like five
minutes ago.”
While he did not touch
or eat the burger on the
ground, Boehm uploaded
photos to his Instagram
and tagged In-N-Out. He
even sent their Instagram
account a message hoping
to get some answers–but
his DM’s remain empty.
Asked if it was a viral
marketing attempt, Boehm
remained highly skeptical.
“I don’t think it makes any
sense. In-N-Out Burger
doesn’t even have a Twitter
account. It seems like
they’re not the most 21-
century company. They’re
just relying on the fact that
they’re such a cult brand,”
he surmised.
Since news spread about
rare burger’s appearance,
Twitter users have
generated some intricate
theories about how the
burger arrived in Queens,
ranging from an attempt
by Russian spies to monitor
the U.S. to the work of
prolific artist Banksy. A
user also created a Twitter
account for the doubledouble,
which plans to keep
the public updated as more
information unfolds.
“My brother thought
that it was like a ‘Cloudy
with a Chance of Meatballs’-
type situation, which is like
where it’s like my greatest
desire is raining from the
clouds,” said Boehm.
While In-N-Out remains
silent on the issue, Boehm
is left reeling from the
experience.
“Like the closest thing
I can compare not ever
getting an answer to this
to is like your favorite
sports team never winning
a championship. The
longer it lasts, the more I’m
gonna probably want an
answer to what happened,”
said Boehm.
“I don’t think this is
something that I’m going
to forget about in the next
week, month or year. So it’s
going to last with me until
my last living breath.
Photo courtesy of Lincoln Boehm
Revenge porn criminalized in New York State
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Cyberbullies in New
York state looking to
publish revenge porn will
now face up to a year in
jail thanks to a Bayside
lawmaker’s newly signed
legislation criminalizing
the act.
After a six-year
push, Governor Andrew
Cuomo recently
signed Assemblyman
Edward Braunstein’s
bill criminalizing the
publication of revenge porn
or the “non-consensual
sharing or publication of
an intimate image.”
Images classified as
“revenge porn” are done
with the intent to cause
harm to the emotional,
financial or physical
welfare of a person. In
addition, the images must
be taken with a reasonable
expectation that it will
remain private.
Under the bill, violators
will face up to a year in
jail and as well as civil
damages. The law also
empowers victims to seek
a court order to remove the
offending images online.
“This new law will make it
a Class A misdemeanor to
disseminate revenge porn,
providing prosecutors
with the tools necessary to
punish those who engage in
this type of reprehensible
behavior. Additionally,
New York will become the
first state in the nation
to allow victims to seek a
court-ordered injunction to
require websites to remove
the offending images,”
said Braunstein.
The northeast Queens
lawmaker introduced
the bill in 2013 to keep up
with people’s 21st-century
photo-sharing habits of
decimating intimate images
by phone and online.
In February 2019,
Cuomo and the state
Legislature voted in favor
of the bill.
“Thank you to Governor
Cuomo for signing this
important measure into
law. I would also like to
express my gratitude
to Carrie Goldberg, a
victims’ rights lawyer,
as well as Sanctuary for
Families, the Cyber Civil
Rights Initiative and the
Cyber Sexual Abuse Task
Force, for their tireless
advocacy on this issue,”
Braunstein said.
The Assembly
unanimously passed the bill
last year, while it failed to
pass in the then-Republican
Senate. According to QNS,
the Senate did not bring the
bill to the floor despite alleged
pressure from the Internet
Association and Google.
“Our laws have not
kept pace with technology
and how abusers can use
it to harass, intimidate
and humiliate intimate
partners,” Cuomo said.
“By criminalizing the
publication of revenge
porn, we are empowering
victims of this heinous act
to take action against their
abusers and showing them
a path to justice.”
Councilman Rory
Lancman passed a similar
bill in the City Council
back in 2017. At the city
level, violators can face up
to a year in jail, a $1,000
fine or both.
“As part of our Women’s
Justice Agenda, we are
focused on changing a
culture that enables sexism
and violence against
women,” said Lieutenant
Governor Kathy Hochul.
“This legislation ensures
New Yorkers are not
victims of nonconsensual
release of intimate images,
empowering them to take
action to remove images
from the Internet and
subject abusers to jail time.
This is another important
step in our overall goals
to achieve true social,
economic, racial and gender
justice once and for all.”
Photo courtesy of Assemblyman Edward Braunstein