6 times • APRIL 16, 2015 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.timesnewsweekly.com Pol touts Ridgewood’s successes and the challenges ahead BY KELLY MARIE MANCUSO editorial@ridgewoodtimes.com @timesnewsweekly Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan discussed the many assets and issues facing Ridgewood at the April 9 swearing-in ceremony of the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association (RPOCA) officials and board of directors held at the Ridgewood Older Adult Center. “We have something very special here,” Nolan said. “It’s kind of ironic— lately it seems like the whole world is just finding that out. That’s going to present a whole new set of challenges for Ridgewood.” In her address to the group, Nolan focused on the many positive aspects and improvements made in Ridgewood over the years, including bus and transit hub upgrades, the efforts and achievements of the Myrtle Avenue Business Improvement District (BID), and advances in local healthcare. Nolan also cited improvements in sanitation, such as Ridgewood’s successful composting program and high recycling rates, as a major asset within the community. “Ridgewood is the cleanest neighborhood in the city because we made that a priority,” she said. “We thought of it as just keeping our homes clean, but now we see the environmental benefit as well.” Ridgewood’s growth and development as an environmentally friendly, sustainable community was also celebrated. According to Nolan, the availability of mass transit, as well as the ability to walk to stores and venues within the community, lessened dependence on cars, reducing pollution and improving the local environment. In addition to improvements, Nolan also addressed the many challenges facing Ridgewood, including mass transit, the loss of manufacturing and an increase in domestic violence, which she referred to as a “hidden problem” in the community. Nolan’s office and the 104th Precinct are trying to combat domestic violence through expanded outreach and communication in the wake of last week’s deadly attack on Grove Street. An issue of particular concern was the challenges facing senior citizen tenants struggling to hold on to their apartments amid rent hikes in the area. Nolan and RPOCA President Charles Ober discussed introducing legislation that would expand the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to three- and four-family homes. SCRIE is a property tax rebate offered to landlords with the incentive of reducing the rent of a senior tenant residing in their properties. In 2014, funding to the SCRIE Program was increased from $29,000 to $50,000. Currently, the exemption is only available to dwellings with six or more units. Nolan vowed to form a council in Albany that would draft legislation expanding eligibility to three- and four-family homes. “It’s long overdue and I think we could try,” Nolan said. Nolan swore in the 2015 RPOCA officers, including President Charles Ober, First Vice President Joseph Segreti, Second Vice President John Maier, Third Vice President Domingo Santos, Recording Secretary Maryellen Borello, Financial Secretary Helen Kuch, Sergeant-At-Arms Carlos Ortiz and Counsel Paul Kerzner. The RPOCA board of directors sworn in included Henry Cross, Geoffrey Elkind, Gregory Haufe, John Hertling, Voytek Oktawiec, Jamie Taratoot, Simon Orr, Richard Wessley, Louis Rodriguez and Chairperson Patricia Grayson. Pastor Thomas Goodhart from Trinity Reformed Church in Ridgewood offered a Benediction at the swearing-in ceremony. TIMES NEWSWEEKLY/Photo by Kelly Marie Mancuso The board members and executive directors of the Ridgewood Property Owners and Civic Association were installed on April 9. Maspeth man with alleged mob ties charged in World Trade Center fraud scheme BY ROBERT POZARYCKI rpozarycki@ridgewoodtimes.com @robbpoz A Maspeth resident and silent partner at a construction company involved in the World Trade Center’s reconstruction was indicted on April 14 on federal money laundering and tax crimes, prosecutors announced. Vincent Vertuccio, 60, reportedly controlled the Crimson Construction Corporation, which received an $11.4 million contract from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for its involvement in building the new One World Trade Center. According to U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Loretta E. Lynch, Vertuccio allegedly directed an employee not to disclose his involvement with the company in applying for the contract due to his connections to organized crime. Once the Port Authority awarded the contract to Crimson, Vertuccio received “significant sums” of a $1.5 million payment made to Crimson, authorities said. These funds were allegedly diverted to a bank account belonging to Vertuccio’s mother and were subsequently used to finance renovations to Vertuccio’s daughter’s home. But the diversion of funds compromised Crimson’s involvement in the World Trade Center project and, as a result, the Port Authority terminated its contract. Vertuccio’s accountant — Praful Pandya, 68, of Forest Hills — was additionally charged for allegedly submitting fraudulent tax returns in Vertuccio’s name to the IRS between 2008 and 2011. Also charged in the indictment was Vertuccio’s lawyer, identified as John Servider, 53, of Patterson, N.Y. Servider is accused of presenting to a grand jury investigating Vertuccio falsified and doctored receipts and invoices from a Manhattan jewelry store. “As alleged, Vertuccio and his team of criminal consultants — including his accountant and his lawyer — cheated the taxpayers and the criminal justice system for their own corrupt purposes,” Lynch said. “We will not tolerate self-serving exploitations of Port Authority projects.” All three defendants were arraigned Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn. Photo courtesy of The Durst Organization
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