14 APRIL 25, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Holden: Paper bag fee a pain for consumers
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Aft er City Council approved a bill
that would place a tax on singleuse
paper bags, Councilman
Robert Holden is calling the move
burdensome on the middle class.
Set to take place aft er a state-wide ban
on plastic bags takes eff ect, the paper
bag tax would put the cost of fi ve cents
on each paper bag used in a transaction
at store across the city.
“As if it wasn’t enough that we are taxed
to death in every facet of our lives, the
New York City Council has just passed
another regressive tax,” Holden said.
“While ensuring our environment is
clean for generations to come, a line
must be drawn somewhere. I voted NO
because this legislation will only add
more pressure on our senior citizens
who already live on a fi xed income, and
will once again put the burden on the
middle class.”
The plastic bag ban was passed in the
budget at the beginning of April making
New York the third state in the nation
to take a stand against the bags which
are not biodegradable and land a heavy
impact on wildlife.
California imposed its ban in 2016 and
Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed
the ban a year ago place emphasis on
Photo via Getty Images
an earlier time when shopper only had
paper bags to turn to.
Mayor Bill de Blasio signed an
executive order on April 11 intended
to be the beginning of the end for
reusable plastics and said while even
paper products should be reduced,
there needs to be option for low-income
New Yorkers.
“We are looking at a whole host of
questions around reusable products,”
de Blasio said. “This is something I’ve
talked about in terms of getting rid of
plastic bags and paper bags that we’ve got
to come up with some kind of option for
folks of limited means. And we’re looking
at everything. We’ll be looking at plastic
bottles. You’re going to see a number of
things coming out.”
The Citizens Budget Commission
backed the fee on paper bags pointing out
that they while they are biodegradable,
their production alone is not in the best
interests of the environment.
“Single-use bags are an environmental
problem,” CBC testimony read. “Plastic
bags make up about 2 percent, or 71,000
tons, of the City’s residential waste
stream; they cost $12.1 million annually
to landfi ll and take more than 500 years
to decompose. While paper bags will
degrade if landfilled, they also have
negative environmental impacts. They
require substantial water to produce and
are heavier to transport than single-use
plastic bags, leading to higher associated
greenhouse gas emissions.”
Disagreement over how the reusable
bags should be managed has been debated
going back to early 2017. Councilman
Barry Grodenchik argued against a fi ve
cent fee on plastic bags proposed by the
mayor and blocked by the State Assembly
with a moratorium.
“The fi ve cents collected per bag would
not benefi t the city or the environment,
but instead go directly into merchants’
pockets. It is unfortunate that the state
government had to get involved, but it
was necessary,” Grodenchik said. “I will
continue to fi ght to permanently block
this tax. Surely there are better ways of
achieving our shared goal of responsible
environmental stewardship.”
Cuomo put a moratorium on any
legislation at the city level pertaining to
plastics that would last until 2018 calling
the city’s attempt to place of fi ve cent fee
on plastic bags a “fl awed” approach.
“Most objectionable is that the law
was drafted so that merchants keep
the fi ve cent fee as profi t, instead of the
money being used to solve the problem
of plastic bags’ environmental impact –
essentially amounting to a $100 million
per year windfall to merchants,” Cuomo
said in February 2017 upon issuing
he moratorium.
The fi ve cent fee on paper bags is set to
go into eff ect on March 1, 2020 upon being
signed by the mayor.
Life without parole for convicted H.B. jogger killer
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Chanel Lewis was sentenced on
Tuesday to life in prison without
parole for the murder of Howard
Beach jogger Karina Vetrano.
The sentence, handed down by Judge
Michael Aloise following a tumultuous
24 hours in his courtroom, came aft er
emotional statements from the victims
family. The Legal Aid Society, which
represented Lewis during his legal
odyssey, vowed to appeal the case.
“While there is no denying that
Karina Vetrano’s death is tragic and
that her family and friends suff ered
a great loss, every aspect of this
case, from the police investigation
to jury deliberations, was propelled
by a desire to convict at all costs,” The
Legal Aid Society said in a statement.
“This was done without any concern
for Mr. Lewis’s Constitutional rights
to due process and a fair trial. We
will appeal this case to the Appellate
Division to secure Mr. Lewis the
justice he deserves.”
Lewis, 22, was found guilty of
committing the Aug. 2, 2016 murder
and sexual assault of Vetrano, 30, who
was beaten and choked while jogging
in Spring Creek Park just blocks
from her home. He was arrested and
charged six months aft er it occurred,
tied to the homicide through DNA
evidence.
The first-degree murder verdict
handed down against Lewis on April
1 was reached at the end of his second
trial, which came nearly fi ve months
aft er a mistrial was declared in the
fi rst case just before Thanksgiving
2018 due to a deadlocked jury.
Lewis was set to be sentenced last
Wednesday but the judge postponed
it aft er his defense team fi led a juror’s
claim of jury misconduct.
According to court documents, on
the day the Vetrano parents testifi ed,
one juror allegedly said to another,
“Well, I have my mind made up, and I
hope you do, too.”
In the same affi davit, two jurors
allegedly spoke of their own
experiences as either a rape victim
or as a prior juror in a rape trial as
the jury evaluated trial evidence in
the case. The juror also complained
of feeling pressure about time when
asking to review the confession tape
some of the jurors said, “Do you really
need to see it again? It’s going to take
time and we’re going to be here
till 1 a.m.”
The prosecution said it had
affi davits from three jurors denying
any misconduct took place. Judge
Aloise agreed and scheduled Lewis’
sentencing for April 23.
Aft er the hearing, tempers exploded
on the steps outside the courthouse, as
Lewis family spokesman Chris Banks
accused Judge Aloise of running a
kangaroo court in his comments
to reporters.
“He’s a clown and this is a circus,”
Banks said. “My client did not receive
a fair shake.”
The mother of Chanel Lewis
was furious.
“Shame on the judge,” Veta Lewis
said. “My son is innocent from day one.
I feel the Vetranos’ pain because they
lost a daughter, but I, too, lost a son and
my son is not the killer.”
She was drowned out by a crowd
of supporters chanting, “Go fin
d the killers!”
Chanel Lewis (at right) of Brooklyn will spend the rest of his life in prison
without the possibility of parole after being convicted of murdering Howard
Beach’s Karina Vetrano (left). File photo
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
