4 JULY 12, 2018 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Probe continues
into deadly
shooting
outside
Woodside store
Photo via Google Maps
A man was found fatally shot
in front of this Duane Reade
pharmacy on Roosevelt Avenue
in Woodside on July 10.
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
RPOZARYCKI@QNS.COM / @ROBBPOZ
Detectives continue to seek
clues in a deadly early
morning shooting outside
a pharmacy in Woodside on
Tuesday.
Officers from the 108th Precinct
responded to a 911 call about
an unconscious man in front of
the Duane Reade store, located at
60-02 Roosevelt Ave., at 12:31 a.m.
on July 10.
Upon arriving at the scene, authorities
said, the offi cers found
the victim — an unidentified
man in his 40s — unconscious
and unresponsive with gunshot
wounds to his torso. Responding
paramedics rushed the man to
Elmhurst Hospital, where he was
pronounced dead.
There’s no word yet on a probable
cause for the shooting, or a
description of the individual who
fatally shot the man.
The crime scene is located a
block west of the busy Woodside
61st Street station on the 7
line and the Long Island Rail Road.
No arrests have been made, and
the investigation is ongoing.
Councilman cracking down on out-of-state plates
BY RYAN KELLEY
RKELLEY@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
TWITTER @R_KELLEY6
New York drivers with out-ofstate
license plates could soon
have to pay their fair share of
fees aft er a City Council member representing
Queens recently introduced
two bills aimed at plate problems.
Councilman Robert Holden introduced
the bills on June 28 with the
intention of preventing drivers who
live in New York from registering
their vehicles in other states or forcing
people who recently moved here
to re-register their vehicle in New
York. Vehicles with out-of-state plates
that are in the city for long periods of
time can harm the city in several ways,
Holden said.
“Out-of-state licensing issues cause
everything from parking headaches to
the loss of state revenue,” Holden said
in a press release. “We need to address
these problems, and cracking down on
out-of-state license plates is key.”
Holden’s fi rst bill would create a task
force across city and state agencies to
analyze the issue and come up with
the best course of action to deal with
out-of-state plates. According to the
bill, the task force would consist of
fi ve members: the commissioner of the
Department of Transportation or their
designee to serve as chair, the commissioner
of the police department
or their designee, the commissioner
of the Department of Finance or their
designee, one member with relevant
expertise appointed by the mayor and
one member appointed by the speaker
of the Council.
The task force would then convene
on a quarterly basis and deliver a report
to the mayor and speaker of the
Council consisting of the numbers
of vehicles owned by New York city
residents with and without New York
registrations, the number of vehicles
that have been issued a violation of
the requirement that residents register
their vehicles in New York and
recommendations of ways to increase
compliance with that requirement.
Holden referenced a 2017 article
from Crain’s that said out-of-state
drivers living in New York could be
responsible for $73 million in unpaid
parking tickets, $93 million in sales tax
revenue, $19 million in under-priced
insurance premiums and $1 million
in fees that should have been paid
for license plates, titles and vehicle
registrations as a prime example for
his concerns.
“It’s unfair that people who register
their vehicles out-of-state are able to
take advantage of lower insurance
rates at the cost of the taxpayer,” Holden
said. “What’s more, these drivers
are abusing our infrastructure without
paying for it.”
Holden further explained to the
Ridgewood Times the diff erent scenarios
that could lead to a city driver
having a car registered to another
state. When someone moves to the city
from another state, they have 30 days
to re-register their car in New York
before they can be penalized, Holden
said. But right now, that law is rarely
enforced.
Others residents who are originally
from other states but purchase a car
aft er moving to New York may seek
to register it in their home state if
they still have family there to avoid
the higher insurance costs. Moreover,
people who own a vacation home in
another state may seek to register their
vehicle in that state for the same reason.
That led to Holden’s second bill,
which is a resolution calling upon the
New York state Legislature and Governor
Andrew Cuomo to pass legislation
that increases the penalties on drivers
who improperly register vehicles in
another state.
“We need to enforce the 30-day registration
requirement, and we need
to increase penalties for out-of-state
registration fraud to deter individuals
from skirting the laws,” Holden said.
The councilman added that police
already have license plate readers that
can tell when a car has been in the city
or state for longer than 30 days.
The two bills have been referred to
the Council Committee on Transportation
for review.
Photo via Pixabay
Woodhaven ROTC instructors recognized
The Air Force Junior ROTC
(AFJROTC) instructors and cadets
of Franklin K. Lane (FKL)
Educational Campus recently earned
the prestigious Distinguished Unit
Award.
Lieutenant Colonel Ralph Gracia
and Master Sergeant Eddie Carr
provided leadership and mentoring
in administering the cadet-centered
citizenship program at the Franklin
K. Lane campus on the Woodhaven/
Brooklyn border. They instill in the
ROTC members a synergistic approach
to problem-solving, striving
toward their dreams, and pursuing
the unit’s mission has fostered pride
and ownership in the cadet corps.
Carr stated, “The FKL Educational
Campus AFJROTC leadership program
is making a positive impact on the cadets,
campus, and the community. Our
cadets performed 8,365 Leadership Development
Requirements community
service hours and are recognized for
all their accomplishments. They are
setting a new standard of excellence.”
State Senator Joe Addabbo Jr.
recognized the AFJROTC program
and its instructors on their recent
Outstanding Instructor Award.
“This accomplishment does not
come easy. It takes a lot of hard work
and dedication. These community
leaders exemplify what it means to
serve,” Addabbo said.
Photo courtesy of the Greater Woodhaven
Development Corporation
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