4 The Courier sun • FEBRUARY 4, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com Three-card Monte victim gets robbed on Ozone Park train: NYPD By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@queenscourier.com @robbpoz It started with a con game and ended in a robbery. Police released on Wednesday night images of three persons of interest wanted Southeast Queens pol says city’s ‘Fair Share’ policy is unfair to district By Robert Pozarycki rpozarycki@queenscourier.com @robbpoz Councilman I. Daneek Miller’s district has the most homeless shelters in Queens — the 10th most in the entire city — and, for a while, many thought another one was on the way. Rumors circulated around Miller’s southeast Queens district that the city planned to transform six recently renovated buildings on Hollis Avenue between 202nd and 204th streets in Hollis into a homeless shelter for men. The city has since openly announced plans to build instead housing for veterans and seniors. Even so, the rumor triggered outrage in the community that the city would think of creating another shelter in the district at a site within a threeblock radius of numerous schools, day care centers, churches, a public library and a playground. It also served as a reminder to Miller that the city’s “fair share” policy — which requires the supposedly equitable placement of homeless shelters, waste processing centers and other municipal service facilities citywide — is flawed and needs a major overhaul. According to Miller, 53 percent of homeless shelters are within 10 of the city’s 51 community districts; four community districts also handle 80 percent of the city’s permitted waste capacity. “Certain communities throughout the five boroughs are saddled time and again with the weight of these responsibilities and then left in the lurch without proper notification or support to provide such services,” Miller said in a statement on Wednesday, Jan. 27. “New Yorkers are crying out a holistic approach to the principles of fair share when it comes to public policy. We must make sure that services are being delivered and derived equitably.” To that end, Miller called on the city pass a “fair share reform package” designed to have more of the city share more of the municipal burdens. The package includes the Community Notification Act (Intro. 906), which requires the city to properly notify a community where it intends to provide housing at social service facilities; the Waste Equity Bill (Intro. 495), which mandates that the city more fairly distribute solid waste management facilities across the entire city; and Intro. 886, which calls on the city to develop an environmental justice plan that includes forming a committee to examine and remediate various environmental concerns in the city. Miller made the call on the same day Queens Community Board 12 members rallied on the steps of City Hall calling for city to adopt its resolution that would place a moratorium on creating new homeless shelters in their district. “The load that Community Board 12 bears is an injustice that was not created overnight, and it is one shared with select districts throughout the city across a variety of services,” Miller said. “Today, we welcome the attention of all those who recognize and seek to remedy this injustice. We welcome all support as we address an issue of consequence in providing service equity to communities throughout the city.” for tricking a man into playing a fixed card game, then robbing him on a train in Ozone Park back in December. On the afternoon of Dec. 11, 2015, according to the criminal complaint that the Queens District Attorney’s office provided, the victim claims that 54-year-old Eddie Vazquez of Brooklyn and the unidentified suspects followed him to and around the Resorts World New York Casino. After cashing a winning lottery ticket, police said, the victim headed out of the casino to the Aqueduct Racetrack A train station at about 4:10 p.m. While heading to the station, prosecutors said, Vazquez approached the victim and offered him the opportunity to play a game of three-card Monte, a classic con game. The victim agreed to play and subsequently lost $1,000. Upon realizing he had been scammed, the complaint noted, the victim threatened to notify authorities, leading Vazquez to hand the money back to him. The victim then entered the Aqueduct Racetrack station; reportedly, Vazquez and the three unidentified suspects followed the man and boarded the same train car. Moments later, police said, the group surrounded the victim and wrangled away from him $2,500 in cash, then fled at the 88th Street station. The incident was reported to the 106th Precinct; there were no injuries. Following an investigation, the Queens Robbery Squad picked up Vazquez on Jan. 13 on charges of second-degree robbery, fourth-degree grand larceny, possession of a gambling device and fraudulent accosting. He remains locked up on $40,000 bail. Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the persons of interest is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS, visit their website or send a text message to 274637 (CRIMES), then enter TIP577. All calls and messages are kept confidential. File photos Photo via Twitter/@IDaneekMiller
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