WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 1, 2016 3 Bigot leaves anti-Semitic graffi ti in Ridgewood This anti-Semitic graffi ti was found on the building at 1051 Wyckoff Ave. over Thanksgiving weekend. BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GIUDICEREPORT With incidents of hate crimes on the rise in the wake of Donald Trump’s election to the White House, a Ridgewood building has become the latest target of anti-Semitic graffiti. Richard Kostelanetz, the owner of 1051 Wyckoff Ave., said he was alerted to the hateful vandalism — which reads “Jew Man” accompanied by a face with what appears to be a yarmulke and curly hair — in two locations on the building by a neighbor late Sunday evening, Nov. 27. Kostelanetz is an artist who has owned the building for the last six years. He rents out space inside his building as well as space on the exterior for advertising to other artists in the area. Kostelanetz happens to be Jewish, but it is not clear if the message is directed at him. “I don’t know what to say, I’m dumbfounded,” he said in a phone interview with QNS. “I’ve been here six years. I thought this was a good neighborhood, at least it used to be. Obviously this Photos courtesy of Richard Kostelanetz was objectionable. Whoever did this better get their head together, they’re going to be in trouble.” The same “Jew Man” graffi ti was also found on the same building near the entrance to the Halsey Street subway station. Kostelanetz said he called 911 and reported the incident on Monday morning. Kostelanetz rents out the side of the building as advertising space, so he also informed the artist who rented the space that the vandalism had occurred. QNS has reached out to the 104th Precinct for comment on the matter and is awaiting reply. Fallen cop fi nally gets honors in Maspeth BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected] @ROBBPOZ More than 45 years aft er he was killed in the line of duty, a late NYPD detective from Maspeth will be honored in his hometown with a street renaming ceremony this Saturday, Dec. 3. The intersection of 62nd Street and 53rd Drive will be renamed Detective Joseph A. Picciano Way in memory of the 10-year NYPD veteran who was shot and killed by a prisoner he was attempting to transport in the Bronx in February of 1971. According to Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, who sponsored the bill to rename the street, Picciano lived in Maspeth with his wife, Theresa, and their three children. He was assigned to the 41st Precinct Detective Squad in the Bronx. On Feb. 15, 1971, Picciano was fi ngerprinting a man accused of abducting a 13-year-old boy at the 41st Precinct’s stationhouse. The suspect suddenly began engaged in a physical struggle with the detective, during which Picciano’s service revolver fell to the fl oor. The suspect managed to grab the weapon and fi red two shots into the detective. Other offi cers at the 41st Precinct returned fi re, killing the suspect. Picciano died of his injuries; he was the fi rst offi cer in the precinct’s history to die in the line of duty, according to published reports. This Saturday, family and friends of the fallen detective, along with members of the NYPD, will gather with Crowley at the Maspeth intersection for the renaming ceremony. “Even though 45 years have passed since this tragedy, the city never forgets our brave men and women who risk their lives every day to ensure that we all can live in a safe Photo courtesy of City Councilwom Detective Joseph A. Picciano of Maspeth was fatally shot by a suspect in the Bronx in February of 1971. and orderly city,” according to the renaming legislation, which Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law in August. Ridgewood kids will have a new place to learn BY ANTHONY GIUDICE [email protected] @A_GIUDICEREPORT The Greater Ridgewood Youth Council (GRYC) is set to open their brand-new community center in Ridgewood on Friday, Dec. 2. The Serphin R. Maltese Community Center will offi cially open to the public at 776 Fairview Ave., once known as the Joseph Garity veterans post, aft er a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. The GRYC will provide Universal Pre-K (UPK) services, as well as Special Needs UPK and day care services at their new 13,000-square-foot facility. There is also a large community meeting room on the lower level and additional offi ce space for the GRYC educational department. According to Bob Monahan, president of the GRYC, the facility was named aft er former NYS Senator Serphin Maltese because he originally allocated the funding from the Senate, allowing the GRYC to purchase the former Garity Post from Wyckoff Heights Hospital, preventing the building from becoming a church. “Even aft er losing his election that year to Senator Joe Addabbo, Serf still kept to his word and commitment to secure this funding in the last two months of his term in offi ce,” Monahan said. “The following year, the Queens Delegation of the City Council and Borough President Helen Marshall allocated $2.255 million to refurbish the facility.” That funding, however, was a reimbursable grant, so it took the GRYC several years to secure enough funding to actually begin the project. “The original intent was to move the GRYC operations from Myrtle Avenue to this location, but, in the time that it took to secure the needed funding, Deputy Brooklyn Borough President Diana Reyna, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley, Councilman Eric Ulrich and the rest of the Queens Delegation allocated $1.65 million to purchase the building that it occupies today on Summerfi eld Street,” Monahan said. The GRYC Headquarters is located at 59-03 Summerfi eld St. and is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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