FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 5, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Domestic violence gun
ban moves forward
Convicted domestic violence offenders throughout
New York State will be barred from buying and owning
all firearms under new legislation.
The Domestic Violence Escalation Prevention
Act prohibits any individual convicted of a domestic
violence crime from purchasing or possessing
handguns or any other firearm. The bill passed the
New York State Legislature last week and has the
support of the Governor Andrew Cuomo. The act
will take effect 60 days after it is officially signed
into law.
The legislation creates a new requirement that the
court order the surrender of all firearms following a
conviction of a felony or serious offense, including
domestic violence misdemeanors. It also establishes a
process for notifying the FBI of domestic violence convictions
and prevents individuals with an outstanding
warrant for a felony or serious offense crime, including
a domestic violence misdemeanor, from being eligible
for a firearms license.
Flushing-based Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, who
was one of the Queens lawmakers who backed the legislation,
noted that most mass shooters target their
loved ones or have a history of family violence. In nine
of the ten deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history, she
continued, the shooter had a known history of harassing,
threatening or abusing women.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Spring snowstorm hit
NE Queens hard
Mother Nature’s belated April Fool’s joke on New
York City brought more than 6 inches of snow to
many areas of northeast Queens on Monday morning.
Whitestone and Bayside had the highest snow totals in
the entire borough, according to the National Weather
Service. As of 9:15 a.m. on April 2, Whitestone recorded
6.4 inches of snow, while as of 9:40 a.m., observers
in Bayside reported 6.2 inches on the ground.
Other areas of Queens feeling the brunt of the spring
snowfall included Rego Park (4.6 inches), Astoria (5.4
inches) and LaGuardia Airport (5.5 inches).
Monday’s snowstorm made the morning commute
messy for residents all over the borough. It also ruined
Opening Day for New York Yankees fans, as the Bronx
Bombers were forced to postpone their 2018 home
opener against the Tampa Bay Rays until Tuesday
afternoon.
Fortunately, the sun came out in the afternoon and
melted much of the snow away as temperatures rose
into the 40s.
Robert Pozarycki
Wi-fi coming to Gantry
Plaza in LIC
The State Parks Department announced on March
30 that there will be an expansion of the New York
State Parks free public Wi-Fi program at Gantry Plaza
in Long Island City.
In partnership with Toyota, the Parks Department
has launched “Oh, Ranger!” Wi-Fi™,” which brought
free public Wi-Fi systems to state parks around New
York. The program has since been expanded to include
Gantry Plaza State Park.
In addition to providing free public Wi-Fi, the platform
acts as a digital information portal that can help
educate visitors, identify park visitation patterns, generate
awareness of upcoming programs and events,
serve as an operations management tool, and promote
volunteerism in the parks.
Emily Davenport
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS
Glen Oaks co-op residents without
gas service for over six weeks
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Dozens of residents living in a
Glen Oaks co-op community have
been without gas service for six
weeks — with no end in sight.
A resident who spoke on the condition
of anonymity told QNS that
gas in the building at 255th Street
and 75th Avenue, part of the Glen
Oaks Village, has been shut off
since Feb. 14, when a gas smell
was reported. That day, Con Edison
arrived to the site, determined there
was a gas leak, and shut off service.
In November to December 2016,
residents in 40 units part of the
same co-op village had a similar
issue when the gas was turned off
for five weeks after a reported leak.
This time around, according to
the resident, Con Edison discovered
another gas leak in the area coming
from a line for which the co-op
management is responsible. Con
Edison determined that gas valves
behind the existing stoves in each
apartment needed to be replaced.
Service has not been restored
since.
In recent weeks, co-op management
has issued multiple memos
to residents informing them that
they are working to complete the
work according to “NYC Gas Leak
Repair Protocols.” The protocols,
enacted by Mayor Bill de Blasio in
2016, require final inspections of
gas pipe systems be conducted by
the Department of Buildings. Gas
service operators and owners must
also notify the DOB within 24 hours
of gas service being shut off in a
building.
“These new city protocols have
added layers of additional steps that
must be followed before the NYC
Department of Buildings will allow
Con Ed to turn the gas back on,”
reads a memo dated March 15. “It
will now take a month or more
to comply with all the steps now
required by the city.”
“The management office, they’ve
done nothing to resolve this thing,”
the co-op resident said. “They need
to do something. It’s taken too long
and it’s not fair for the people over
here.”
To cook meals, the resident and
his family had to purchase a small
electric and gas grill and a slow
cooker.
“We cook and we don’t like junk
food, going to McDonald’s or wherever,”
the resident said. “And we
can’t afford going out to good
restaurants for food.”
Fellow resident Mohammad
Islam, who has lived in the co-op
with his family for about 14 years,
said he has never had an experience
like this before. Islam also had
to purchase a small electric stove to
cook for his family.
“This is sub-par living,” he said.
“We can do so little cooking. We’re
so frustrated.”
Islam said he’s had multiple email
correspondences with co-op management,
who say they’re waiting on
DOB permits and inspections.
According to a Department of
Buildings spokesperson, a licensed
master plumber hired by the co-op
owner filed two permit applications
for gas work on Feb. 21, following
the gas leak. Both permits were
approved by DOB on the same day.
On March 12, DOB arrived to the
site to conduct an inspection at the
site, the spokesperson added. The
inspection resulted in a fail because
the plumber could not provide the
city agency with access to the areas
that needed inspection. Since then,
the plumber has not requested an
additional inspection.
“DOB will expedite any inspection
requests related to this property
once they are received, in the interest
of returning safe gas service to
the tenants as quickly as possible,”
the spokesperson said.
According to co-op board president
Bob Friedrich, the delay is due
to DOB’s “outrageous, unfair and
inequitable” new protocols.
“This whole thing has been
delayed by the DOB because their
protocols have created enormous
delays, even though the gas leak
repairs were completed weeks ago,”
he said.
Friedrich said the co-op completed
repairs about three weeks ago;
the work was then tested by master
plumbers. However, when the city
came in to inspect, he said they discovered
a few of the gas dryers and
washing machines within building
units did not have permits: a problem
“unrelated to gas leak issue.”
This resulted in a failed inspection.
Co-op management is working
with DOB to schedule inspections
and have the gas turned back on,
Friedrich said. A meeting has also
been set up for April 6 where senior
management of Glen Oaks Village,
DOB officials and Councilman
Barry Grodenchik will discuss getting
the gas turned back on and
work out a protocol so a similar situation
does not happen again in the
future.
“The problem lies with the
Department of Buildings,” Friedrich
said. “It’s a horrible situation.”
Glen Oaks Village at 255th Street and 75th Avenue
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