16 THE QUEENS COURIER • FEBRUARY 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Daiso Japan discount store set to debut in Flushing
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
A new Japanese retail store known for
selling quality items at extremely low
prices is making its grand opening debut
in Flushing next month.
Daiso Japan, known for its wide selection
of household products, will open
its doors to shoppers on Friday, March
8, at 10 a.m. in Th e Shops at Skyview
Center at 40-24 College Point Blvd. and
will continue the festivities through
Saturday, March 9. It’s the chain’s fi rst
shop on the Eastern Seaboard.
With more than 2,800 stores in Japan
and over 600 stores overseas, Daiso
Japan’s fi rst Flushing store aims to help
consumers maintain a high standard of
living without spending more.
“We are very excited to bring Daiso
to customers in the greater New York
metropolitan area,” said Mr. Yoshi
Murata, senior vice president of Daiso
Operations. “Daiso has captured the
imagination of shoppers around the
globe with its product mix and unique
philosophy. We are confident that New
York residents will be delighted by
the Daiso shopping experience that is
beloved by many.”
Off ering products that meet the needs
of just about every shopper in the household,
Daiso’s buyers work hard to stock
must-have items as well as novelties, creating
memorable shopping experiences
that keep customers coming back. While
most items sell for $1.99, certain products
may be priced above or below this
amount.
Th e 4,109-square-foot Daiso Flushing
store will feature products and styles for
every season, including holiday decor,
spring cleaning and organizing products,
and thousands of quality products
ranging from kitchenware, beauty
supplies, stationery, gift wrap, greeting
cards, electronic accessories, unique gift
items, snacks and party favors.
Daiso has been the subject of hundreds
of “haul” videos featuring quality
Japanese products at reasonable prices.
From cosmetics to craft and slime
videos, fans fl ood the web with how-to
videos and tutorials using Daiso products.
Th e stores’ grand opening weekend
celebrations oft en draw lines that snake
around the building.
Daiso Japan’s grand opening celebration
The interior of the Daiso Japan store that opened in San Gabriel, California, in 2014. The Japanese
retailer is opening a store in Flushing in March 2019.
and ribbon-cutting ceremony
will off er goodie bags for the fi rst
100 customers with a receipt on both
days (March 8 and 9); free Great Prize
Giveaway tickets all day on March 8 and
until 4:30 p.m. on March 9 or whenever
tickets are gone. Ticket supplies are
limited, and customers should ask for a
ticket at the Daiso table near the front
of the store.
Winners will have two weeks to claim
Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Nandaro
prizes. Th e winning tickets will expire
March 23. Th ere will be no re-drawing
and customers are asked to check their
tickets within the two-week timeframe.
Prizes include an iPad Mini, Apple
Watch and hundreds of dollars in gift
cards; vendor sampling and promotions;
and limited-edition Daiso balloons for
the little ones, while supplies last.
For more information, visit daisoglobal.
com.
Flames rip through four-story apartment house in Astoria
BY ALEX MITCHELL
amitchell@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Chilly neighbors helplessly watched
from the street as fl ames engulfed an
apartment house in Astoria on the late
hours of Feb. 21.
Th e blaze began on the third fl oor of
four-story residential building on the corner
of 21st Avenue and 33rd Street at
approximately 9:05 p.m. on Th ursday,
according to the FDNY, which classifi ed
the fi re as an “all-hands,” one-alarm incident.
Just minutes aft er that, the vicious
fl ames shot out of a third-story window
on the building’s rear side above an
alleyway closer to Ditmars Boulevard, as
one EMS worker scurried into the lobby
of the complex on 33rd Street.
He was one of 60 responders spread
amongst 12 units. Only one of those
FDNY members suff ered minor injuries
while no civilians were reported hurt.
Th ose 12 units were spread as far
south as Ditmars Boulevard and west as
31st Street, running hoses up and down
the populated roadways.
Ladder Company 154 was also used
for vertical support to douse the fl ames,
which as under control by 10:15, according
to the FDNY.
Just hours aft er the fi re, the 33rd Street
building still had power as units on multiple
fl oors had lights on. Th at building
was also under scaff olding on its 33rd
Street side prior to the combustion.
New York’s Bravest stated that the
cause of the all hands fi re is still under
investigation.
Rego Park man
gets 15 yrs. for
making kid porn
BY EMILY DAVENPORT
edavenport@qns.com
@QNS
A Rego Park man will spend 15 years
in prison aft er admitting to directing
women online to sexually abuse children
and send him photographs and
videos of the abuse in exchange for
money, prosecutors announced.
Keith Liwanag, 27, pleaded guilty to
sexual exploitation of a child in June
2018. He was sentenced to serve 15
years in prison and upon completion
of his sentence, Liwanag must register
as a sex off ender.
“Th is is a just sentence for a defendant
who used technology to victimize
vulnerable children half a world
away,” United States Attorney Richard
Donoghue said on Feb. 21. “Protecting
children from sexual exploitation will
always be a priority of this Offi ce.”
According to charges, Liwanag used
a Facebook account in September and
October of 2016 to direct women in
the Philippines to engage in sexual acts
with children in exchange for money.
Aft er they would engage in the acts,
Liwanag would have the women produce
and send child pornography over
Facebook’s private messaging service.
During the government’s investigation,
authorities seized more than 50
recorded video conferences between
Liwanag and women who were sexually
abusing children over Facebook and
Skype, prosecutors said. Th e investigation
also revealed that Liwanag had
shared the videos he created online.
“Liwanag paid others to victimize
children for his own pleasure,” said
HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Angel
M. Melendez. “His use of women in
the Philippines to exploit children for
the production of child pornography
is not just criminal, it’s evil. Because
of the great work of law enforcement
and the prosecutor’s offi ce, he will now
serve 15 years for his unfathomable
acts, facing the full justice of his actions
behind bars.”
Photo by Alex Mitchell
/WWW.QNS.COM
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