19 • TIMES, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 2014 FIREWORKS BACK TO E. RIVER See July 4 Spectacular From Long Island City, Greenpoint by Robert Pozarycki The rockets’ red glare will once again fill the evening skies over Brooklyn and Queens this Fourth of July. Macy’s and Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Monday, Apr. 14, that this year’s Fourth of July Fireworks Show will take place on the East River. Since 2009, the Hudson River played host to the pyrotechnical spectacle, giving residents of New Jersey and Manhattan’s West Side a front-row seat of the action. The Mayor’s office indicated the barges carrying the more than 40,000 fireworks shells and other effects will be placed near the Brooklyn Bridge and the “lower” East River adjacent to Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Long Island City. It will be the first time in 19 years that the Brooklyn Bridge is featured in the extravaganza. Officials expect the show to draw tens of thousands of revelers to the neighborhoods’ waterfronts on Independence Day, serving as an economic boon for local businesses. “We’re grateful to Macy’s for lighting our skyline every Fourth of July—and I’m thrilled that, after years of working with Macy’s and my colleagues to make this a reality, the fireworks will return to the East River this year,” said de Blasio, who—as a mayoral candidate last year—held an Independence Day press conference in Brooklyn calling on Macy’s to return the fireworks display to the East River. “Now even more New Yorkers will get to take part in this extraordinary celebration, against the backdrop of the Brooklyn Bridge, the harbor and our skyline,” the mayor added. New Travel Plaza Opens At JFK Airport State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo and other elected officials celebrated last Wednesday, Apr. 9, the opening of a new travel plaza near John F. Kennedy International Airport at the corner of 148th Street and 150th Avenue. The plaza is located near several hotels and offers amenities including food, free wireless internet access and fuel options including diesel, natural gas and electric chargers. According to Addabbo, the plaza provides 100 jobs per year and is expected to generate $30 million in annual revenues, making it an “economic engine” for the area. South Ozone Pk. Contractor Pleads Guilty To Tax Fraud Underreported Millions In Income The owner of a South Ozone Park-based contracting business that provided heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) services throughout the New York City metropolitan area, pled guilty last Thursday, Apr. 10, for his role in a tax evasion scheme. Federal prosecutors said Nick Jodha (a.k.a. Nick Persaud), 43, of South Ozone Park and Kissimmee, Fla., pled guilty to one count of tax evasion before U.S. District Court Judge Richard J. Sullivan. He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison. As part of the plea agreement, according to Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Jodha agreed to pay the IRS restitution in the amount of $214,529. Judge Sullivan scheduled sentencing for July 24. “Nick Jodha has admitted to -SEE EVASION ON PG. 58- -SEE FIREWORKS ON PG. 58- ©Times Newsweekly - 2014 - G.R.Y.C.
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