8 JUNE 6, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Supermarket owner torches rival’s shop Committee
Community Board 5 will
hold its election for Executive
Committee members during
its next meeting on Wednesday
night, June 12, in Middle
Village.
As announced by District
Manager Gary Giordano, the
session takes place at 7:30
p.m. at Christ the King High
School’s CNL Center, located at
68-02 Metropolitan Ave. (enter
through Door 10, take elevator
to third floor).
The regular meeting agenda
includes the public forum; a
review of liquor licenses and
demolition notices; reports by
Chairperson Vincent Arcuri
and District Manager Giordano;
and various committee reports.
Board 5 members will also
nominate and elect officers to its
Executive Committee. The seats
include chairperson, first and
second vice chairs, secretary,
treasurer and four at-large
posts. Under city regulations,
the election is limited only to
current Board 5 members.
For information on the
meeting or to register in
advance, call the Board 5 office
at 718-366-1834.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@ROBBPOZ
When competition heated up,
an Ozone Park supermarket
owner decided to have a fi re
sale — by setting his rival’s business
ablaze, federal prosecutors said on
May 31.
A federal grand jury indicted
Mamunar Khan, 59, co-owner of
the Deshi Bazaar at 74-16 101st Ave.,
for allegedly torching on Feb. 3 the
Premium Supermarket, located
three blocks away in Brooklyn at
1196 Liberty Ave.
“As alleged in the indictment,
Khan set fire to a supermarket
while it was open for business,
demonstrating total disregard for
the safety of employees, customers
and the firefighters who responded
to the blaze,” U.S. Attorney
Richard Donoghue said on Friday.
“Attempting to burn down your
competition is an extremely serious
and violent crime and we and our law
enforcement partners will ensure
that such crimes are punished.”
According to the indictment,
Khan was caught on camera inside
the Premium Supermarket on
Feb. 3 pushing a cart filled with
an unknown flammable material
down an aisle. While wearing blue
latex gloves, he allegedly ignited the
material with a lighter, then fled the
store as the flames spread.
A camera outside the shop filmed
Khan allegedly driving away from
Photo via Getty Images
the shop inside a Mercedes-Benz
SUV, authorities said.
Numerous Fire Department units
responded to put out the fire, which
caused substantial damage to the
supermarket and its structure.
No major injuries or deaths were
reported.
During an investigation, federal
prosecutors said, law enforcement
agents questioned a witness who
told them that Khan had allegedly
previously complained about
Premium Supermarket, claiming
that their lower prices were hurting
business as Deshi Bazaar.
A day after detectives questioned
him, authorities said, Khan fled the
country and traveled to Bangladesh.
He returned to the U.S. three months
later, and was taken into federal
custody on May 6.
“The use of fire as a weapon to
injure and intimidate is a callous
crime, one that senselessly puts
the lives of New Yorkers and
FDNY members in danger,” Fire
Commissioner Daniel Nigro said.
“Thanks to our Fire Marshals,
NYPD Detectives, ATF agents, and
the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol
agents who brought to justice an
alleged arsonist who sought to avoid
responsibility for this crime.”
Khan faces between 5 and 20 years
in federal prison if convicted.
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Glendale residents waiting for
a smoother Myrtle Avenue
drive were relieved that the
Department of Transportation
fi nally moved forward this week to
complete resurfacing the strip from
Cooper Avenue to 76th Street.
The agency has left over a
20-block stretch of Myrtle from
Cooper Avenue to Woodhaven
Boulevard stripped and rough for
the past month according to Board
5 District Manager Gary Giordano,
who believes that the holdup was
due to excessive periods of rain.
Completion of the resurfacing job
was set to start Wednesday, June
5, and be completed by the end of
the week.
“Normally the time between
milling and resurfacing is usually
two weeks. When it gets to be a
longer period then there’s cause for
concern,” said Giordano. “So we are
happy that they are coming here.
We hope that it stays dry.”
The repaving is planned to
happen at night. Following the
stretch planned for this week,
Giordano said that the agency
would still have to finish the section
from 80th Street to Woodhaven
Boulevard. He hoped it will happen
at the beginning of the following
week. The section from 76th Street
to 80th Street has no repaving
planned.
Board 5 has also requested
nighttime resurfacing along
Fresh Pond Road from Myrtle
Avenue to Bleecker Street and
on Metropolitan Avenue from
Andrews Avenue in Maspeth to
Pleasantview Street in Middle
Village.
Giordano says he hopes that
the DOT might be able to take
these projects on during summer
while residents are out of town
on vacation and school is out of
session.
“Those are requests that we’ve
put in and are advocating regularly
for,” said Giordano.
Photo via Google Maps
elections at
CB 5 meet
City to complete Myrtle Ave. repaving
/WWW.QNS.COM
link
link
link
link
