TIMES, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2015 • 6 BOMB SCARE AT TOWER Former Glendale Man Charged With Second Kew Gardens Hoax by Robert Pozarycki A 49-year-old man was arrested Tuesday morning following a bomb scare at a Kew Gardens office building, authorities said. Law enforcement sources identified him as Scott Sansonkin, a former resident of Woodhaven Boulevard in Glendale, who was taken into custody without further incident and found not to have a bomb in his possession. Reportedly, he was taken to a local hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. The scare reportedly occurred at about 11 a.m. at 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd. near Union Turnpike, a 12-story office building that includes the Queens District Attorney’s Detective Squad, an FBI satellite office and the Kew Gardens Community Center. According to police, Sansonkin walked into the lobby carrying a bag and allegedly announced he had a bomb. During a subsequent investigation, police reportedly determined the bag contained an inert device made to resemble an explosive. Officers from the 102nd Precinct, the NYPD Bomb Squad and other NYPD units responded to the location, and all individuals inside the building were safely evacuated. District Attorney Richard Brown was not at the location at the time of the bomb scare. Sources familiar with the investigation said Sansonkin previously pulled a bomb scare at the same location in November 2008; he was subsequently prosecuted on federal charges and served a prison sentence. Sansonkin was charged Tuesday with falsely reporting an incident, possessing a false bomb or hazardous substance and second-degree harassment. Other charges are pending the results of an investigation. The office building at 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd. was the site of a bomb scare that a former Glendale resident allegedly perpetrated Tuesday. (photo: Angy Altamirano) Ridgewood Needs A New Pair Of Everything Civic Leaders Urge Katz To Boost Funds For Police, Trees & Schools Community Board 5 District Manager Gary Giordano urged Katz to increase the number of police working out of the 104th Precinct because the force in the precinct lost about 20 percent of their force in recent years. This has led, he said, to the precinct being overwhelmed with complaints and duties. Giordano also requested an increase in building’s inspectors to compensate for the increased real estate development taking place in Ridgewood. While this combination of reduced police and overburdened buildings inspectors hasn’t led to an outright Wild West scenario, he added, the two things are needed to maintain control of the area. Paul Kerzner, president of the Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation (GRRC), called for $80,000 in funds to purchase and install 10 solar panel cameras in Ridgewood to help combat graffiti and illegal dumping. Five cameras would be set up along Myrtle Avenue, and the other five would be on Fresh Pond Road. Kerzner also requested another $1.2 million to plant 1,200 street trees around Ridgewood. He noted the trees make a difference not only to the neighborhood’s environment but also its property values. “It has been some 12 years since Ridgewood received any capital funds from the Borough President’s office for street tree plantings,” he told Katz. “We would hope that this fiscal year, the environmental relationship between the Borough President’s office and Ridgewood will resume.” Angela Mirable, GRRC executive director, also called for $60,000 to retain an architectural graduate student for a two-year study into adding up to 300 additional landmark buildings in Ridgewood. She also requested funds to continue the GRRC’s weekly free community consultant program at the Board 5 office. Meanwhile, community leaders from across the borough urged Katz to push for school expansions during Monday’s budget meeting. Katz is in the process of developing the Queens budget for 2016, and she invited the public to comment on what mattered to them and their priorities for 2016. “We’re experiencing a huge influx of children and we just don’t have the space,” said Karyn Petersen, Community Board 10 district manager. “We could use more schools or expand the schools we have. Both would be preferable.” Petersen’s wishes were echoed by many others. Across the borough, people are reporting an increase in population and a swelling number of school children. In Woodside and Sunnyside, parents petitioned the city to create a new middle Ridgewood civic activists urged Queens Borough President Melinda Katz to secure increased funds for new street trees around the neighborhood. Pictured above are trees last autumn along Madison Street near Benninger Playground. (photo courtesy of Ridgewood Social) school. In the Jackson Heights area, Giovanna Reid bemoaned the fact that a new high school hadn’t been created in decades. One hundred and fifty people, many representing hospitals, libraries, colleges and other institutions, signed up to speak at the hearing. “We need a new high school,” Reid said. “It’s about time for one.” Along with a demand for more school seats, community leaders sought out funding to expand libraries, which, like the schools, are overcrowded. Along with a problem of limited space, many libraries are located on streets that are dangerous for pedestrians to cross. “Kids have to cross the ‘Boulevard of Death’ just to get to the library,” said Frank Gulluscio, the district manager for Community Board 6. “I mean I’m not trying to be dramatic but it’s a very dangerous place for kids to be even though many have to be there.” by Eric Jankiewicz and Robert Pozarycki More cops, building inspectors and street trees are needed in Ridgewood and surrounding communities, civic leaders told Queens Borough President Melinda Katz during her budget hearing Monday at Queens Borough Hall in Kew Gardens.
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