AUGUST 25, 2019 Your Neighborhood — Your News®
LOCAL
CL ASSIFIEDS
PA GE 15
Cops battle
robbery rash
in Ozone Park
VAo Cl.N 8G. PNuob. l3ic4a tion
Flushing frets new liquor mega-mart
Small businesses band together to battle expansion of regional retailer
(From l. to r.) Employees Nicholas Alma and Joey Demarco, and Frank Mortagua, owner of Marpat Wines and Liquors in Flushing, are banding together
with other local businesses to prevent the opening of a new Total Wine & More store in the area. Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Employers at Marpat Wines
and Liquors store in Flushing are
fearing the worst — the possible
shutdown of their business and
jobs if Total Wine & More, a
fast-growing chain of nearly
200 stores, sets up shop across
the street.
Marpat Wines and Liquors,
located at 3112 Farrington St., has
been operating in the community
for 53 years selling the best
selection of wines and liquors
from around the world, and owner
Frank Mortagua is preparing to
fight back against the superstore
to keep his business open,
he says.
“I can’t sleep. This is like a
nightmare,” Mortagua said. “It’s
an injustice to take my familyowned
business, not only mine,
but all of the local liquor stores
out of business. We try to make a
buck … that’s their intention, to
take everyone out of business.”
Mortagua, among others in
the community, received a letter
on Aug. 19 from entrepreneur,
Michelle Trone, who has filed an
application to open the wine and
spirits store in the College Point
area at the space previously
UPDATED EVERY DAY AT QNS.COM
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
AND EMILY DAVENPORT
Cops are looking for two thieves
who stole property from a man
and sliced his face along an Ozone
Park street last week — the latest
in a series of violent robberies to
hit the neighborhood.
Law enforcement sources
said the trouble began at about
7:10 a.m. on Aug. 14, as a 30-yearold
man sat in a vehicle parked
along 83rd Street between 133rd
Avenue and Spritz Road, adjacent
to Tudor Park.
At that time, authorities noted,
the two suspects approached the
vehicle. One of the men opened the
passenger side door and removed
a cellphone, while his cohort
opened the driver’s side door and
slashed the victim in the face.
The suspects then fled the
scene in an unknown direction,
cops said.
Officers from the 106th Precinct
responded to the incident. The
victim was treated at Jamaica
Hospital for a laceration to
his face.
On Aug. 18, the NYPD
released video footage of the
two perpetrators, captured by a
nearby home security camera.
Continued on Page 14 Continued on Page 14
PROUDLY SERVING THE MEDICAL NEEDS
OF THE COMMUNITY FOR OVER 110 YEARS!
Schedule an appointment online today at ehs.org/sjmg
/QNS.COM
/sjmg
