TIMES, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 30, 2014 • 28 Say Maspeth Couple Pimped Out Women When one of the women threatened to walk away from the scheme, authorities said, he allegedly intimidated her, claiming there would be “consequences” if she left. In another instance, law enforcement sources stated, Vilella allegedly supplied one of the victims with cocaine for use on a daily basis. Photos of the victims were Pols Seek BRT System On Woodhaven, Cross Bay Blvds. New York City Transit President Carmen Bianco and DOT Commissioner Polly Trottenberg. In addition to urging that SBS be implemented, the elected officials lobbied the MTA and DOT for the service to be extended to Far Rockaway, it was noted. The lawmakers argued that SBS could reduce commute times by up to 30 percent if it were installed on the congested northsouth corridor, the letter stated. “We request that the city and the MTA work quickly to improve conditions along these congested streets,” the letter said. “Woodhaven Boulevard should be a top priority for improvements to pedestrian safety, traffic flow and bus service.” Almost 900,000 people in nearby communities commute more than an hour each way to work, and more than two-thirds are low-income wage earners, the letter noted. SBS is a transportation system that could convert bus operations to more closely mirror the subway, MTA officials claim. It would install dedicated bus lanes, off-board fare collection, and transit signal priority to offer faster and more reliable service on high-ridership bus routes, according to the agency. Lawmakers believe it will improve traffic flow, increase pedestrian safety and prioritize faster bus service along the congested corridor, the letter stated. “It is imperative that we increase acess and equity to all New Yorkers,” the lawmakers wroted. “That is why we formally request to enhance the plans of Bus Rapid Transit along Woodhaven and Cross Bay Boulevards for full-scale implementation, and also that it extends throughout the entire Rockaway peninsula.” “Communities, like the one I represent, are bursting with potential for growth, but need better access to public transportation to achieve it,” Crowley said in a separate statement. “Expanding highquality BRT throughout Queens will help uplift working families that have struggled for generations in underserved parts of our city.” -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- included in the Craigslist advertisements. Reportedly, a mother of a victim recognized her daughter in one of the photos. Police were notified, and the 104th Precinct Detective Squad launched an investigation that culminated in a visit to the Verve Hotel early last Tuesday morning, Oct. 21. Upon arrival, authorities noted, the detectives found Vilella and the two victims in the room where the illegal conduct allegedly took place. Vilella and DiSimone were taken into custody and charged with promoting prostitution. According to court records, they were arraigned later that day in Queens Criminal Court before Judge David Hawkins. Vilella remains held on $50,000 bail, while DiSimone is held on $5,000 bail. Both are scheduled to return to court on Nov. 12. -CONTINUED FROM PG. 1- NNeewwss FFroomm TThhee Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association Sanitation Miscalculation by Alexander Blenkinsopp The Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association (WRBA) doesn’t choose its causes based on what would be best for the organization. We do it based on what would be best for the community. The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) must not understand that fact.E arlier this month, the Times Newsweekly reported on the WRBA’s vehement objections to DSNY’s unfair practice of ticketing property owners in the middle of the night for trash that had been left outside their homes and storefronts. Such enforcement is completely unreasonable because, as DSNY has acknowledged, illegal dumping by passersby in the middle of the night is a common problem. That means the only way property owners can avoid the tickets is by spotting the trash dumped by others in the middle of the night and cleaning it up before a DSNY agent pounces. Handling it first thing in the morning would be too late to avoid the fine. Over the past two and a half years, the WRBA has received six tickets between the hours of 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. Of course that irritated us, but that’s not what really ticked us off. What put this issue near the top of our to-do list is when we learned that innocent residents and upstanding business owners in Woodhaven were also getting hit with these absurd tickets. For years now, we’ve been asking DSNY to change its policy. Unfortunately, the agency has not done so. Instead, it has persisted in targeting people who’ve done nothing wrong, costing them hard-earned money while those who actually broke the law go unpunished. We recently escalated our fight against this unfairness. We wrote a letter to Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, reiterating our call for an end to this enforcement policy. According to the letter of reply we received, DSNY responded to our complaint by dismissing our most recent ticket and by reminding its agents to “use common sense and discretion” when issuing summonses. Though we’re pleased our ticket was dismissed, and though we’re pleased that DSNY tacitly admitted that middle-of-the-night tickets defy common sense, this response was still inadequate. DSNY must have thought that if they let the WRBA off the hook, we would leave them alone. They were wrong. This isn’t about us. It’s about the other people in Woodhaven— and across Queens, and across New York City—who are also being victimized by DSNY’s unjustifiable policy. The WRBA can’t be silenced just by dismissing our tickets. We will continue to make our case to DSNY. We’ll continue to point out that when it snows in the middle of the night, residents have until the next day to shovel their sidewalks before they are at risk of a ticket. We’ll continue to note that Bill de Blasio, when he was Public Advocate, wrote a letter endorsing the WRBA’s call for an end to the practice of midnight ticketing. We’ll continue to highlight the fact that agents should be spending their time ticketing the dumpers, not the victims of the dumping. And if DSNY continues not to listen to us, we will pursue this change any other way we can. We will work with our City Council Member Eric Ulrich, and his colleague Antonio Reynoso, who chairs the City Council’s sanitation committee, to try to enact legislation they’ve proposed to ban this practice. We will work with City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who came to the last WRBA Town Hall and personally offered his assistance on this matter. And we will do our best to get Mayor de Blasio to follow up on the stance he took when he was Public Advocate. We won’t give up this fight until everyone in this city can go to sleep knowing there won’t be a Sanitation ticket waiting for them when they wake up just because somebody else decided to break the law. Editor’s note: The next Woodhaven Residents’ Block Association meeting is on Saturday, Nov. 15, noon at the American Legion Hall, located at 89-02 91st St. Blenkinsopp is a member of Community Board 9 and director of communications for the WRBA. For additional information on the WRBA, visit www.woodhaven-nyc.org. ©Times Newsweekly - 2014- COALITION
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