8 SEPTEMBER 19, 2019 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
DA eyes Maspeth test score scandal Duo sought
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
EDAVENPORT@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Cops are looking for a pair of
crooks who attacked a man
on a Middle Village street
and ran off with his wallet.
According to police, at 4:55
p.m. on Aug. 24, a 29-year-old
man was walking down on 75th
Street near 67th Road when
he was approached by two
unknown individuals who demanded
his property. When the
victim tried to walk away from
the suspects, they punched him
in the face, causing him to fall
to the ground.
The crooks then took the
victim’s wallet, which contained
$40 and personal items,
before fleeing the scene. EMS
responded to the incident but
the victim refused medical attention
at the scene.
The suspects were last seen at
the Gates Mini-Mart, located at
1534 Myrtle Ave. in Ridgewood.
The first suspect is described
as a Hispanic man with short
black hair and a slim build,
between the ages of 17 and
21 years old. He was last seen
wearing a white tank top, blue
jeans and white sandals.
The second suspect is described
as a Hispanic woman
with long black hair and a slim
build, between the ages of 17
and 20 years old. She was last
seen wearing a short red tank
top, black sweatpants, red and
black shoes and a red bookbag.
Anyone with information in
regard to this incident is asked
to call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers
Hotline at 1-800-577-TIPS
(8477) or for Spanish, 1-888-57-
PISTA (74782). All calls are kept
confidential.
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
Acting Queens District Attorney
John Ryan is conducting his
own inquiry into allegations
that Maspeth High School was boosting
the grades of students to reap the
benefi ts of a high graduation rate.
This coincides with another investigation
that is underway by the city
Department of Education after the
claims from former teachers came to
their attention recently as well.
“The matter is under review by
our Public Integrity Bureau,” a
spokeperson for the acting DA said
on Sept. 17.
The allegations, if proven credible,
could signal the downfall of the
school’s shining reputation which
in 2018 was one of only 349 across
the country to receive the national
Blue Ribbon Award for excellence
in education.
Maspeth High School was one of
only eight across the city to get the
recognition from U.S. Secretary of
Education Betsy DeVos.
It could also be a black mark on
the record of founding Principal
Khurshid Abdul Mutakabbir who
has, according to the latest data from
U.S. News & World Report, driven
the graduation rate to 98 percent.
A spokeswoman for the DOE
said the agency requires its staff to
undergo rigorous training to administer
exams as well as “mandatory
procedures for
allegations of
academic dishonesty
and
misconduct.”
“We take any
allegation of
academic misconduct
very
seriously, and
there are strict
protocols in
place to ensure
complaints are
reported, investigated
and
add re s s ed,”
t he DOE
spokeswoman
said. “These
a l legat ions
a r e currently
under
investigation.”
The school
is an attractive
Maspeth High School founding Principal
Khurshid Abdul Mutakabbir at a Juniper
Park Civic Association meeting in 2017.
File photo
option for parents not just for
its credentials, but because it boasts
a 15:1 student/teacher ratio.
The specifics of the allegations,
however, are murky.
Councilman Robert Holden issued
a letter to the Special Commissioner
of Investigation Anastasia Coleman
claiming a former teacher had come
to his office with the claims that they
were pressured to give students
credit despite scarce attendance
as well as giving away answers
on exams.
The lett
er al so
overviewed
incidents in
which the
teachers were
pressured to
fall into line
with the administration’s
demands or
face “negative
observations.”
“For a high
school to have
a 100 percent
pass rate on
its regents
exams and
courses with
a turnover of
15 to 18 teacher
every year,
according to
the whistleblowers,
is
questionable,” Holden said in the
letter. “A school’s leadership should
not be run as a ‘boys club’ nor should
teachers feel like the administration
runs the school like ‘gangers.’ Its sole
mission is to ensure an environment
that fosters excellent teaching and
learning so that its students are prepared
for college and adulthood.”
Holden’s letter even charged
that the school’s union rep had
pressured teachers to fill out a
positive review of the school and
the administration.
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@RIDGEWOODTIMES
The state Department of Environmental
Conservation (DEC)
deemed Strack Pond in Forest
Park “suspicious” of containing toxic
algae on Aug. 30.
Based on visual observations
from the pond, DEC staff identified
what might be blue-green
algae, which contains toxinproducing
microscopic organisms
called cyanobacteria.
The agency has not yet confi rmed
whether Strack Pond contains
this form of harmful algae bloom
through testing.
Around the beginning of September,
four bodies of water around the
city were confi rmed by the DEC to
contain harmful levels of toxins.
Councilman Robert Holden
warned residents that they may
see the Parks Department posting
caution signs around the pond this
Department of Environmental Conservation documented Strack Pond’s high
level of algae. Photo courtesy of the Department of Environmental Conservation
week. He advised residents not
wade, fi sh or drink the water near
the algae.
The algae blooms are especially
treacherous for dogs who may lose
consciousness or die if they swallow
the contaminated water while
swimming or licking the algae from
their fur.
“When enjoying fresh water features
in city parks, it is important
to try to avoid contact with any algae
and keep pets on leashes and do not
allow them to enter or drink from
lakes and ponds unless in areas specifi
cally designated for such activities,”
a spokesperson for the Parks
Department wrote in a statement.
for mugging
in Midville
Strack Pond full of harmful algae, DEC says
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