4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JANUARY 4, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Queens woman’s murder is
city’s fi rst homicide of new year
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
Cops are investigating the stabbing death
of a 26-year-old woman in Richmond
Hill on Monday — the city’s fi rst reported
homicide of 2018 — as a possible murder
suicide stemming from a dispute with
her husband, it was reported.
Th e victim, Stacy Loknath, was found
with multiple stab wounds inside her home
on 103rd Avenue near 113th Street at
1:09 p.m. on Jan. 1, police said. Earlier in
the morning, police reportedly found her
42-year-old husband hanging from a tree
in Forest Park.
Citing police sources, the New York
Daily News said that Loknath, a mother
of two, who was stabbed multiple times in
the back. Paramedics pronounced her dead
at the scene.
Th e same report identifi ed her husband as
Vinny Loknath, 46, whose body was found
in Forest Park about two hours before offi -
cers from the 106th Precinct found Stacy
Loknath dead in Richmond Hill.
As of Tuesday, however, police had
not confi rmed the speculated reasons for
their deaths. Th e Daily News reported that
detectives are investigating the case as a
possible murder-suicide.
Two Queens synagogues receive anti-
Semitic hate calls on Christmas Day
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Religious leaders at two synagogues in
Bayside and Flushing received similar but
distinct anti-Semitic phone calls earlier
this week, QNS has learned.
Temple Beth Sholom of Flushing at 171-
39 Northern Blvd. and the Hollis Hills
Jewish Center at 210-10 Union Tpke. each
received hostile phone recordings on their
personal extensions on Dec. 25. Th e incidents
were reported to local police two
days later.
In the menacing message to Rabbi
Sharon Ballan of Temple Beth Sholom, a
sinster voice addresses the rabbi and wishes
her a Merry Christmas before making
reference to President Trump, “who was
elected with the majority of the electoral
college in a landslide and now we can grab
‘em by the p***y.”
“Trump said, ‘We’re going to say
Merry Christmas again,’” the voice continues,
“so Merry Christmas to each and every
one of you people, who aren’t going to be
dismantling Christmas in our country anymore!”
Th e caller then ends the message
with prolonged laughter.
Ballan told QNS she reported the phone
call to the 109th Precinct on Dec. 27, shortly
aft er listening to it for the fi rst time. Two
offi cers arrived about an hour later, taking
a copy of the call and telling Ballan they
will “keep their ears and eyes open.”
”Th is was just very disconcerting,” Ballan
said. “And the nature of it — it really
sounded like it wasn’t just a random person
acting out. It was just too polished and
canned sounding … It was defi nitely made
to sound threatening.”
Th e religious leader said she’s seen an
increased police presence in the immediate
area following the phone call.
Ballan also reached out to the Anti-
Defamation League (ADL), who promptly
responded and informed her another
synagogue in Brooklyn received a similar
phone message.
QNS was provided with a copy of the
voicemail left with Temple Beth Sholom.
Hollis Hills Bayside Jewish Center’s
Rabbi David Wise also received a similar
but slightly varied phone message that same
day. He said that he reported the incident
to the 111th Precinct on Dec. 27 and will
be following up with the offi cers next week.
Th e synagogue has never received a call
like this before, Wise added.
An NYPD spokesperson said the complaints
regarding both incidents were not
immediately available.
A spokesperson for the ADL New York
Regional Offi ce confi rmed that the group
received reports of the incidents and are
aware of them. While the messages are not
outwardly anti-Semitic, the spokesperson
said, they are “still concerning” given the
recent spate of hate crimes in New York
City.
“We continue to monitor and report
these incidents closely,” the spokesperson
said.
According to a report released by the
ADL on Nov. 2, anti-Semitic incidents
across New York State nearly doubled in
the fi rst nine months of 2017. In New York
City, anti-Semitic incidents saw a 92 percent
increase year-over-year.
Photo: Pexels
Queens had
second highest
number of births
in NYC in 2016
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com / @QNS
Th e city saw many births this year
in Brooklyn and Queens, according
to the Department of Health.
Th e Health Department released
the fi nal number of babies that were
born in New York City throughout
2016. According to the data, the
number of babies born in New
York City decreased 1.1 percent
from 2015 through 2016, dropping
the grand total of city births from
121,673 births to 120,367 births.
While Brooklyn had the greatest
number of babies born last year
with 40,125 births, Queens came in
second with 26,794 births.
Following behind Queens in
number of births was the Bronx,
Manhattan and Staten Island, who
each had 19,474 births, 17,199
births and 5,357 births, respectively.
Th e Health Department also
released the most popular baby
names throughout the city. Olivia,
which was the most popular girls’
name in 2015, maintained its position
as the number one girls’ name
for 2016 with 564 babies given that
name. Liam, which was the third
most popular boys’ name in 2015,
came in at number one for 2016
with 710 babies.
According to the Health
Department, Liam was the number
one baby name for boys who were
born in Queens. While Olivia was
the most popular name for girls
born in the city, the most popular
name for baby girls born in Queens
was Sophia, which also the second
most popular girl’s name for babies
born throughout the city in 2016.
Other popular baby names for
girls in 2016 throughout the city
included Emma, Isabella, Mia, Ava,
Emily, Leah, Sarah and Madison.
Popular boys’ names for babies
born in New York City included
Jacob, Ethan, Noah, Aiden,
Matthew, Daniel, Lucas, Michael
and Dylan.
Photo via Facebook/Robert Stridiron
Police secure the 103rd Avenue home in Richmond Hill where a 26-year-old woman was found fatally
stabbed on Jan. 1.
Photo via Flickr/salimfadhley