WWW.QNS.COM RIDGEWOOD TIMES DECEMBER 6, 2018 19
Maspeth man caught in Brooklyn heroin sting
BY MARK HALLUM
MHALLUM@CNGLOCAL.COM
A Maspeth man was among seven
individuals arrested by federal
agents on Dec. 5 for alleged
involvement in a heroin distribution
ring that operated in Williamsburg
and surrounding communities.
Robert Martinez, 34, faces a minimum
sentence of 10 years if convicted
of the drug charges, according to the
U.S. Department of Justice.
The FBI and NYPD have investigated
the drug traffi cking ring since fall of
2017 by intercepting communications
and through physical surveillance
which showed they had distributed
heroin across the city and even as far
as Hawaii over the course of several
months.
“As alleged, the defendants distributed
opioids day aft er day in our community,
feeding addiction without regard
for the potentially lethal consequences
of their actions,” U.S. Attorney Richard
Donoghue said. “With today’s arrests,
the drug ring has been dismantled
and the defendants will now be held
to account in a court of law.”
Members of the ring allegedly
bragged about the potency of the product
they were selling, referring to it as
“fever” or “fi re,” according to the court.
On Wednesday morning, law
enforcement agents executed search
warrants at the defendants’ residences
in Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and
Manhattan, seizing about 150 grams
of heroin as evidence.
“The epidemic of opioid abuse is
a public health crisis. Those who
choose to profi t from traffi cking in
these potent narcotics show a fl agrant
disregard not just for the law, but
for the safety of their communities,”
Sweeney said. “As alleged, these
defendants enabled the cycle of addiction
with their narcotics distribution
enterprise spanning the country. The
FBI will continue to work with our
federal, state and local partners to get
drug traffi ckers and their dangerous
products off the streets.”
Photo via Shutterstock
Law enforcement agents also retrieved
more than five pounds of
marijuana, 150 pairs of luxury
sneakers, $20,000 in cash.
Martinez was allegedly found
in possession of a stolen .40
caliber Glock with 80 rounds
of ammo.
Construction starts on new American Studies high school
BY ALEJANDRA O’CONNELLDOMENECH
ADOMENECH@RIDGEWOODTIMES.COM
Construction has started on the
Academy of American Studies’
new home which will be right
across the street from its current
location at 28-04 41st Ave., Long
Island City.
The Academy of American Studies
currently shares space with Newcomers
High School, located across
the street. The new building will
be located at 28-04 41st Avenue in
what is currently the parking lot of
Newcomers.
The new four-story building will
house 969 students and include a
visual art room, music room, science
labs and a medical suite, according to
the Department of Education. Currently,
there are about 909 students
enrolled at Newcomers High School
and 1,008 enrolled at the Academy of
American Studies.
“Since we opened the school we’ve
been looking for a new building,” said
Patricia McLoughlin, a school aide at
the Academy of American Studies.
Overcrowding has been a chronic
problem in New York City schools
with the problem projected to only
worsen in Long Island City with the
arrival of Amazon in 2019, according
to the Gotham Gazette. Housing data
posted by the School Construction
Authority estimates that between
2018-2024, 19,703 residential units are
slated to be built in Queens’ School
District 30, where the Academy of
American Studies and Newcomers
High School are both located.
According to the Department of Education’s
formula used to determine
how much school enrollment growth
this infl ux of residents will generate,
there will be a need for 4,000 additional
elementary and middle school
seats. The proposed fi ve-year capital
plan for 2020-2024 includes only
1,012 for the district.
In the proposed five-year plan
there are fewer than 1,000 high school
seats for the borough. The housing
start data alone would generate the
need for about 5,000 additional high
school students.
Among those in attendance for the
groundbreaking were State Senator
Michael Gianaris, State Senator-elect
Jessica Ramos, Councilman Jimmy
Van Bramer, Assemblywoman Catherine
Nolan, School Construction
Authority President Lorraine Grillo,
Queens Community Board 1 Chair
Marie Torniali, Queens Borough
President Melinda Katz, Principal
William Bassell and a handful of
students.
Construction is scheduled to be
completed in 2021 with the new
school’s fi rst student’s set to occupy
the building in September of that year.
Photo courtesy of Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan’s offi ce
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