FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MARCH 29, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Vote on NE Queens projects
through April 15
Northeast Queens residents are invited to vote on which
community projects deserve over $1 million in funding
this year.
Starting next week, Bayside, Whitestone, College Point,
Douglaston and Flushing residents in Council District 19
can vote for up to fi ve projects out of a pool of 20 as part of
this year’s round of participatory budgeting. All residents
aged 14 and over are eligible to vote.
Items on the ballot include technology upgrades at
Poppenhusen Library in College Point, an engineering and
robotics lab at P.S. 94 in Little Neck, and an adult fi tness
center at Little Bay Park. NYPD security cameras and realtime
passenger countdown clocks for the Q12 and 13 bus
routes are also on the ballot.
Voting will be open from April 7-15. Polling sites
include P.S. 41, 79, 94 and 193, Poppenhusen Library and
Councilman Paul Vallone’s offi ce. Residents can also vote
online at pbnyc.org/vote.
Suzanne Monteverdi
New law seeks federal
charges for phone scammers
A Queens lawmaker’s bill to crack down on “spoofi ng”
— a scheme where callers impersonate fi nancial, police or
government authorities to steal money or personal information
— has been signed into law.
Congresswoman Grace Meng, whose district covers
most of central and northern Queens, fi rst introduced the
“Anti-Spoofi ng Act” in 2013. Th e bipartisan legislation
was signed into law as part of the omnibus spending bill
on March 23.
In spoofi ng, thieves use technology to change the way
their name and phone number shows up on caller ID.
When residents answer the phone, the caller will then
falsely claim they are from an offi cial agency, like the IRS,
and convince them to wire money or provide personal
information.
Under the bill, spoofi ng attempts from abroad will be
considered a criminal act under federal law. Th e bill also
expands spoofi ng protections to cover text messaging and
internet-based Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) services,
which enable perpetrators to make calls from computers
or tablets.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Gianaris wants stop-work
order on Kushner projects
State Senator Michael Gianaris wrote a letter to the
Department of Buildings on March 22 calling on the agency
to issue a stop-work order on all projects by Kushner
Companies aft er an Associated Press report found evidence
of falsifi ed paperwork.
Th e report, which was published on March 19, found
that Kushner Companies repeatedly falsifi ed city paperwork
to mask the number of rent-regulated apartments
in three Astoria apartment buildings that were purchased
in 2015.
Th e company was previously owned by Jared Kushner,
who stepped down as CEO of the company last year before
becoming an advisor to President Donald Trump. Jared
Kushner retained stakes in Westminster Management,
a subsidiary that oversees Kushner Companies residential
properties, including the buildings in Astoria, AP
reported.
“Th is is a serious investigation, the outcome of which will
aff ect thousands of New Yorkers,” Gianaris wrote. “Th e
Department of Buildings needs to send a message to the
Kushner Companies and all other developers who seek to
violate the public trust that allegations such as these will be
taken seriously and damages will be assessed anytime there
are violations.”
Angela Matua
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER
Hollis Hills activist rails over
rotting state of Union Tpke.
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A median running through one
of eastern Queens’ most active
thoroughfares needs the attention
of multiple city agencies, according
to a Hollis Hills activist.
Louis Lapolla, who has lived in
the neighborhood straddling the
Bayside/Queens Village border for
nearly 50 years, has been fi ghting
for the removal of dead trees
along Union Turnpike between
Winchester Boulevard and Main
Street for years.
According to Lapolla, the city
planted the trees along the median
around six years ago. Many died
almost immediately.
“I’ve been trying for a while,” he
told QNS. “I don’t care so much
about getting the new trees planted
— that would be nice — but if
we could just get these dead trees
cut down.”
Lapolla reached out to local elected
offi cials, including Councilman
Barry Grodenchik and state
Senator Tony Avella, who wrote
to the city’s Parks Department on
his behalf. Still, he said, the dead
trees remain.
In previous years, Lapolla
reached out directly to the Parks
Department about dead trees in
another area of eastern Queens.
Th ere, he said, he saw a response.
Trees planted along the median
pose “one of the most diffi cult challenges”
to the Parks Department’s
forestry team, according to city
spokesperson Meghan Lalor said.
Consistent exposure to air pollution,
salt and vehicle collisions
subject trees to high mortality
rates.
“Currently, we are working on
developing strategies to re-populate
these areas with tree plantings
designed specifi cally to endure the
harsh conditions of highly traffi
cked corridors,” Lalor said. “Th at
being said, where site conditions
are not conducive to the long-term
survival of trees, we will not pursue
new tree planting, regardless of
whether or not those sites included
trees in the past.”
Th e Parks Department could
not provide an immediate timeframe
for the removal and potential
replacement of the trees along
the particular median.
Lapolla is also a member of the
Hollis Hills Civic Association.
He said that the group plans to
send the Parks Department a letter
about the issue in the coming
months.
While onsite with QNS, Lapolla
also pointed out the condition of
the concrete median, which was
crumbling or had entire blocks
missing in some areas.
“You see how many cars pass
by? People take Union Turnpike to
avoid the expressway and the parkway.
It’s a very busy thoroughfare,”
he said. “And not for nothing, this
is going through Bellerose, Hollis
Hills, Jamaica Estates … Th ese are
some of the best neighborhoods in
Queens.”
Th e conditions create a dangerous
condition for drivers and
pedestrians. Paired with the dead
trees, he added, the crumbling
concrete adds to the unappealing
aesthetic.
QNS reached out to DOT for
comment and did not receive a
response as of press time.
Louis Lapolla stands beside one of the trees along the Union Turnpike median
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