www.timesnewsweekly.com On Twitter @timesnewsweekly THURSDAY, JULY 3, 2014 50 CENTS DAMN MAD OVER DAM Fuming Over R’wood Reservoir Project reservoir is a shallow pond in its center basin believed to be no greater than 5’-deep, according to the Parks Department’s Joelle Byrer. State regulations, according to DEC Region 2 Director Venetia Larson, require that all dams in active use be improved to modern building standards, which would involve extensive and costly renovations. But “the Parks Department attempt to pawn it off. Upon further investigation, detectives reportedly linked Rodriguez to another chain snatching the previous day, Tuesday, June 24, near hisWoodward Avenue home. According to information provided by the Queens District VOL. 105, NO. 49 Counties’ Largest Classified Section Serving Queens And Brooklyn by Robert Pozarycki Frustrated residents and conservationists blasted city and state officials during a public meetingMonday night, June 30, at Glendale’s St. Pancras Pfeifer Hall over plans to breach the reforested Ridgewood Reservoir’s basin walls. Representatives of the city Parks Department and the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) held the session to outline plans to “decommission” the Ridgewood Reservoir as a staterecognized high-hazard dam. Taken completely out of the city’s water system and drained decades ago, the basins have since been filled naturally with plant and wild life. The only water remaining in the -SEE RESERVOIR ON PG. 26- One Time Too Many For Thief R’wood Chain Snatcher Busted By Police by Robert Pozarycki Snatching chains from women in Ridgewood on back-toback days proved costly for a neighborhood man booked on robbery and grand larceny charges last Wednesday, June 25, law enforcement sources said. AND STAY OUT! Raucous Protesters Denounce Homeless Shelter In Elmhurst Protestors lined Queens Boulevard in front of the Queensboro Elks Lodge at a rally against the housing of homeless at the Pan- Am Hotel on Monday evening, June 30. story and photo by Noah Zuss Tempers flared among hundreds of people both inside and outside the Queensboro Elks Lodge in Elmhurst on Monday, June 30, participating in rival protests prior to and during a Queens Community Board 4 public hearing on the housing of homeless families at the former Pan American Hotel. Sing Summer Tunes At Free Concerts See Story On Pg. 19 TO USPS: MAILING LABEL GOES HERE TN/RT 062614 Police stated Adalberto Rodriguez, 37, ofWoodwardAvenue was picked up after allegedly swiping a woman’s necklace last Wednesday and then visited moments later at a nearby jewelry store in an apparent At the hearing inside, residents directed their anger toward Douglas Apple, executive vice president of Samaritan Village, and Lisa Black and Lorraine Stevens from the Department of Homeless Services (DHS). At another table sat Board 4 members and public officials, including District Manager Christian Cassagnol and Chairperson Lou Walker. To open the hearing, Walker read a Board 4 statement and said “the shelter was placed at the hotel without input,” from the board or residents, to applause and shouts from the crowd. City Council Member Daniel Dromm, Assemblyman Francisco Moya, State Sen. Toby-Ann Stavisky and Kathy Moore from Borough President Melinda Katz’ office also attended. While the hearing was going on, outside on Goldsmith Street, which police closed to traffic, a rival protest of people sympathetic to the families at the hotel and some living there began to gather. Things took an ugly turn, eventually, as the much larger group against the shelter shouted “get a job, we don’t want you here” and “shame on you,” at the shelter sympathizers. Some of them began shouted “go back to your country,” at shelter opponents who were of primarily Asian descent. Apple appealed to the angry group inside and said he realizes families were moved in abruptly, and without input. “I recognize what has happened here, we moved in without notice,” Apple said. “We are not here to add problems.” The approximately 90 families housed at the hotel, he said, “are individuals who, through no fault of their own, became homeless.” He claimed the hotel was equipped to “provide high quality social services with case managers that will help find housing and employment, if necessary.” Apple also tried to squelch fears over security and said there is 24/7 security on-site, adding “we have cameras inside the building.” -SEE SHELTER ON PG. 24- -SEE SNATCHER ON PG. 26- Queens’ Early Fourth Of July Fireworks Independence Day festivities got off to an early start in Astoria on Monday night, June 30, as thousands enjoyed a fireworks display at Astoria Park near the Robert F. Kennedy (Triborough) Bridge. Sponsored by the Central Astoria Local Development Corporation, the program was accompanied by the Queens Symphony Orchestra, which supplied patriotic tunes as the soundtrack to the pyrotechnic extravaganza. (photos: Marcin Zurawicz)
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