Man Hits Jackpot, Then Gets Robbed Crook Followed Him Home From Casino by Robert Pozarycki Security camera footage helped police catch a Bronx man last Friday, Nov. 7, who allegedly stalked an 88-year-old man from the Resorts World New York Casino in South Ozone Park and robbed him near the victim’s East Elmhurst home, it was reported. • Essex Street—on Delancey Street at Essex Street. More Disruptions Affect The 7 Train There will be no 7 train service between Queensboro Plaza and Times Square-42nd Street this weekend, from 11:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 14, until 4:30 a.m. Monday, Nov. 17. Trains will operate normally between Main Street and Queensboro Plaza. During the disruption, Q trains will run to Astoria-Ditmars Boulevard on Saturday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. For service between Queens and Manhattan, transfer to the N or Q trains at Queensboro Plaza or Times Square-42nd Street or the E, F or R trains at Roosevelt Avenue. Free shuttle buses will replace 7 trains in Long Island City between Queensboro Plaza and Vernon Boulevard-Jackson Avenue. These trains will also stop at Queens Plaza for ADAaccessible The information in this column is current as of Wednesday, Nov. 12. Last minute changes to service and operating schedules may be made at any time after publication. Check www.mta.info for schedule changes. Fastrack Program Hits M Line Tonight The MTA’s Fastrack maintenance program will also end service early on the M line between Myrtle Avenue- Broadway and 71st-Continental Avenues during evening hours on Thursday, Nov. 13. Transfer to the J train at Myrtle Avenue- Broadway for service to and from Manhattan. J & M Trains Won’t Cross Br. Weekend J train service will be suspended between Hewes Street and Essex Street—and M train service will be closed between Myrtle Avenue-Broadway and Essex Street—this Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 15-16, from 5:45 -SEE TRANSIT ON PG. 54- connections to the E and R lines. The shuttle buses will stop as follows: • Queensboro Plaza—on Queens Plaza South at 27th Street; TIMES, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2014 • 18 TRANSIT NEWS and Updates Metropolitan Transportation Authority a.m. to 8 p.m. During this period, J trains will operate in two sections: between Jamaica Avenue and Hewes Street and between Essex Street and Chambers Street. The latter section will operate service every 15 minutes. M trains will operate as a shuttle between Metropolitan Avenue and Myrtle Avenue- Broadway. For service to Flushing Avenue, Lorimer Street and Hewes Street, transfer to the J train at Myrtle Avenue-Broadway. Free shuttle buses will replace train service between Hewes Street and Essex Street. For alternate service to and from Manhattan, transfer from the J train to the A, C or L trains at Broadway Junction or, from the M train, to the L train at Myrtle- Wyckoff Avenues. The shuttle buses will stop as follows: • Hewes Street—on Broadway at Hooper Street; • Marcy Avenue—on Broadway at Marcy Avenue; and TRAFFIC NEWS and Updates New York City Department Of Transportation • 62nd Avenue between Fresh Pond Road and Mount Olivet Crescent in Middle Village for paving on Thursday, Nov. 13; • 62nd Road between Fresh Pond Road and 64th Street in Middle Village for paving on Thursday, Nov. 13; and • Mount Olivet Crescent between Eliot and Metropolitan avenues in Middle Village for paving on Friday, Nov. 14. Kew Gdns. Project Affects Union Tpke. Long-term construction related to the state Department of Transportation’s Kew Gardens Interchange project will require the right lane of Union Turnpike eastbound to be closed at all times between 128th and 134th streets. All existing traffic lanes will remain open and are shifted to the left.L ane Closures On Grand Central Pkwy. One lane of the Grand Central Parkway in each direction will be closed between 82nd and 111th streets on weekdays from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. and 10 p.m. until 5 a.m. on weekdays. Lane closures will also take place from 10 p.m. Fridays to 7 a.m. Saturdays and from 10 p.m. Saturdays to 3 p.m. Sundays. Two lanes of traffic in each direction may be closed on weeknights from 12:01 until 5 a.m., Saturdays from 1 to 6 a.m. and Sundays from 1 to 9 a.m. -SEE TRAFFIC ON PG. 54- Because of ongoing construction work at several locations throughout Queens and Brooklyn, the city DOT has announced numerous street closures in local neighborhoods for the upcoming week. The announced diversions are current as of Wednesday, Nov. 12, and weather permitting. The DOT may shut down other roads should the need for emergency repairs arise. Streets and highways that are affected by closures during this week include the following: More Sat. Closures For Grand St. Br. The Grand Street Bridge over the Newtown Creek will be closed on Saturday, Nov. 15, from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. for deck grating repairs. Drivers are advised to use Flushing and Metropolitan avenues as alternate routes while traveling between East Williamsburg and Maspeth. Street Resurfacing In Glendale & M.V. Weather permitting, DOT crews will perform street resurfacing work on the following streets: • 60th Place between 75th and St. Felix avenues in Glendale for paving on Thursday, Nov. 13; • 60th Street between St. Felix and Cooper avenues in Glendale for paving on Thursday, Nov. 13; • 61st Street between Myrtle and St. Felix avenues in Glendale for paving on Friday, Nov. 14; Building Bridge To Higher Ed. In LIC Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan recently toured LaGuardia Community College in Long Island City with New York State Board of Regents Chancellor Meryl Tisch and Commissioner John King to highlight the school’s Bridge Program. The Bridge Program provides career focused basic skills instruction for students 19 and older who need to earn a high school equivalency diploma. Nolan is pictured with Tisch, Gail Mellow, president of LaGuardia Community College and King. Gregory Hillman, 57, of Concourse Village appeared in Queens Criminal Court last Saturday, Nov. 8, to answer to second-degree charges of robbery and assault and a count of fourthdegree grand larceny. During the arraignment hearing, Judge Ernest Hart ordered him held on $40,000 bond or $20,000 cash and to return to court on Nov. 21. If convicted, Hillman faces up to 15 years behind bars. “Hillman is accused of stalking his victim for more than an hour and a half and over a distance of more than 10 miles while, at the same time, boarding and exiting several modes of transportation before pouncing and robbing the man,” Queens District Attorney Richard A. Brown said in a statement last Saturday. “However, there were electronic eyes throughout the city that allegedly recorded the defendant’s movements.” Reportedly, the trouble began on the afternoon of Oct. 31 at Resorts World New York, located adjacent to Aqueduct Racetrack at 110-00 Rockaway Blvd., where the 88-year-old had won $1,000 playing casino games. Security camera footage that detectives later viewed showed Hillman walking close to the victim and watching him as he counted his winnings. Cameras captured footage later of Hillman following the victim onto a Resorts World casino express bus bound for the Jamaica train station, in the vicinity of Sutphin Boulevard and Archer Avenue. Hillman reportedly continued stalking the victim as he boarded a Manhattan-bound E train, then followed him as the man departed at the Roosevelt Avenue station on the Elmhurst/Jackson Heights border. Authorities said Hillman allegedly continued to follow the victim as he shopped inside a supermarket at 75-01 Broadway, then after he boarded a Q47 bus heading toward the Marine Air Terminal. The suspect reportedly walked off the bus after the victim departed at a location in East Elmhurst. As the elderly victim approached his home, police stated, Hillman allegedly grabbed his pockets from behind. A struggle reportedly ensued and the perpetrator pushed the man to the ground. Law enforcement sources said the elderly man struck his head on the sidewalk and briefly lost consciousness. After knocking the man out, police noted, Hillman allegedly removed the victim’s wallet, which contained more than $1,000 in cash and a credit card, and fled. Officers from the 115th Precinct responded to the incident. The victim was treated for various injuries that were not lifethreatening. Brown thanked Resorts World and the MTA for their assistance in the investigation, which the 115th Precinct Detective Squad conducted. The case is being prosecuted by the DA’s Special Victims Bureau.
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