for breaking news visit www.timesnewsweekly.com APRIL 23, 2015 • times 3 Midville continues Glendale shelter fight By ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@ridgewoodtimes.com @A_GiudiceReport As proponents for turning an abandoned Glendale warehouse into a homeless shelter try to move that plan forward, the Middle Village Property Owners and Residents Association (MVPORA) vows to continue to fight against it. Samaritan Village, the company proposing to build the shelter, still has not conducted an environmental impact study for the former factory at 78-16 Cooper Ave., according to Sal Crifasi, president of both the MVPORA and the Glendale/Middle Village Coalition. The coalition consists of residents, businesspersons and community leaders dedicated to opposing the shelter primarily through legal action. At the MVPORA meeting on Tuesday, Crifasi said an impact study would require Samaritan Village to research how putting a homeless shelter in the area would affect the schools, the sewage system, the traffic and the environment of the neighborhood. “Because of our input, we stalled it almost a year already,” Crifasi said. “They were supposed go in there last year already, I mean, open and operating, but because of us making a little noise about this, they are having problems.” There have also been some changes made to the shelter’s plans due to the location of the site. Crifasi explained that the site is located in an “M zone,” which only allows for the construction of manufacturing buildings. “For an M zone, you’re only allowed to put manufacturing, but you could put a hotel,” Crifasi said. “So what they did is, instead of 125 units they changed the plans and made it now a 70-room hotel. They’re allowed to put a hotel by code.” The controversy over whether it will be an actual hotel or a place to warehouse the homeless is not deterring MVPORA from continuing their fight. “We’re fighting it and I feel comfortable and confident that we are going to win,” Crifasi said. “We’re going to win one way or another.” Due to the overcrowded schools in the district, Crifasi suggested that Queens is in need of three high schools. The shelter site, he and others claim, would be more suitable for redevelopment as a public school. “Now we’re trying to see if we can get a high school there, because if they’re saying that the site is good enough for people to live there, then maybe it’s good enough for kids to go there.” “We’re fighting,” Crifasi assured those in attendance. “We’re not putting up the white flag yet.” THETIMES NEWSWEEKLY/Photo by Anthony Giudice Sal Crifasi, president of the Middle Village Property Owners and Residents Association, talking about the Glendale homeless shelter during the MVPORA meeting. Crime drop tops 104th Precinct meeting in Ridgewood BY ANGELA MATUA editorial@queenscourier.com @AngelaMatua Crime dropped across the 104th Precinct last month, but the precinct’s commander warned during the April 21 104th Precinct Community Council meeting in Ridgewood about a “significant uptick” in identity theft and tire and rim thefts. Capt. Mark Wachter told guests at the Peter Cardella Senior Citizens Center that major crimes fell by eight percent in the last 28 days, but some residents reported scams including mail listing credit card charges that they did not make. According to Wachter, the percentage of stolen cars is down. Burglaries are down 9 percent for the month and 6 percent for the year. Felony assaults are down 6 percent and robberies are down almost 10 percent. There has also been an uptick in Glendale of tire and rim heists, specifically of 2014 Toyotas. Wachter suggested that residents put wheel locks on their cars. P.O. Eddie Collado of the precinct’s Crime Prevention Unit has been knocking on doors to warn residents of the recent thefts. Wachter also mentioned that the anticrime unit took a gun off the street in Ridgewood a few hours before the meeting. The new commander, who took the helm in March for now-Deputy Inspector Christopher Manson, said he is settling into the job and would like to hear feedback from the community about any problems they would like the precinct to alleviate. “I enjoy being here,” Wachter said. “It’s a great place to work. It’s going to take me time to meet and greet everybody but it’s something I want to do.” At the end of the night, Wachter awarded four officers with Cop of the Month honors. Officers David Babayev, Edwin Diaz, Amaruy Gomez and Brian Abbondandelo responded to a home invasion on March 16. At 8:30 a.m. that day, a New Hampshire man, who was allegedly under the influence of drugs, shot rounds of gunfire in Maspeth. The suspect and another man pulled out of the Long Island Expressway and onto 56th Avenue and 61st Street. He then exited his car and shot a round into the street. The suspect then forced himself into a woman’s home as she opened the door to leave her house. The officers, who entered the two-family walk-up to remove the suspect, were met with one round of gunfire. Officers Babayev, Diaz, Gomez and Abbondandelo were able to coax the suspect out without firing shots. The homeowner, who was still in the house during this altercation, was uninjured. Wachter commended them for the “tremendous amount of restraint” they showed when capturing the suspect. “This easily could’ve turned into a tragedy for us, for the person involved, for the innocent parties inside the house,” Wachter said. “We’re honoring these officers for their professionalism, their restraint that they showed, their common sense and their bravery.” The captain presented Babayev, Gomez and Abbondandelo with plaques donated by the Times Newsweekly; Diaz was not present to receive his award. Photo courtesy of 104th Precinct Officers David Babayev, Brian Abbondandelo, Amaury Gomez and Edwin Diaz (not pictured) were named Cop of the Month by Capt. Mark Wechter, commanding officer of the 104th Precinct. 20 St. Johns Road, Ridgewood, N.Y. 11385 Between Fairview & Woodward Ave Hours of Operation: 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Meals & Snacks provided
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