4 THE QUEENS COURIER • APRIL 18, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Open run set for
Bayside’s Crocheron Pk.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
A New York-based nonprofi t is inviting
Queens residents to get outside and get active
this spring.
Starting on Saturday, April 27, the New
York Road Runners (NYRR) will be hosting
Open Runs at Crocheron Park in Bayside.
NYRR and NYC Parks’ Community Parks
Initiative collaborated on the free community
running and walking program, which
opened to people of all ages and experience
levels.
“It’s opened to everybody, it’s super ‘take
it easy.’ If you’re not a big runner, you’re welcome
to walk,” said NYRR coordinator Ellen
Youpel at a Community Board 11 meeting.
“Bring your strollers, bring your kids — it’s
all about just getting the community involved
and getting people active.”
“Starting this month, @nyrr is bringing a
community run to #Bayside! Beginning on
Saturday, April 27th, the group will host a
weekly Open Run at Crocheron Park. Visit
https://t.co/haNUBptQUr for more information
and spread the word!,” City Councilman
Paul Vallone tweeted on April 9.
St. Mary’s Hospital for Children (29-01
216th St.) will be hosting a free information
session on Saturday, April 13, at 9 a.m.
Organizers will give attendees a walk-through
of Crocheron Park followed by refreshments.
American long-distance runner Ted
Corbitt founded NYRR in 1958 with a mission
of helping and inspiring people through
running. Since its inception, the original
47-member group has grown to more than
60,000 members and nearly 600,000 runners
annually participate in the nonprofi t’s
races, community open runs, walks, training
session and other running-related programming.
Four other Queens parks currently
host Open Run programs: Astoria Park,
Cunningham Park in Fresh Meadows,
Flushing Meadows Corona Park and
Highland Park on the border of Queens and
Brooklyn.
Th e 3.1-mile run/walks at Crocheron Park
take place every Saturday at 9 a.m. beginning
on April 27. Organizers ask participants to
meet at the comfort station at the intersection
of 33rd Road and 215th Place. Click here
to register or volunteer for this or other Open
Runs, which take place at 18 parks throughout
the fi ve boroughs and Jersey City, New
Jersey.
City says sex off enders are out of Bayside hotel
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
cmohamed@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Eight sex off enders who were living at
the Anchor Inn Motel in Bayside have
been removed from the site, according
to an offi cial from the New York City
Department of Housing Preservation
and Development.
“We all must work together to help
formerly incarcerated people reintegrate
Photo: Carlotta Mohamed/QNS
Flushing man pleads guilty to Kissena Park sex assaults
BY MAX PARROTT
mparrott@qns.com
@QNS
A Flushing man admitted to committing
knifepoint sexual attacks on
two women in Kissena Park, Chief
Assistant District Attorney John Ryan
announced.
Charles Tobin, 31, of Kissena
Boulevard pleaded guilty on April 10 to
fi rst-degree rape and fi rst-degree sexual
abuse for two separate attacks on consecutive
days in July 2017.
Sentencing was set for May 14, at
which time Tobin will be sentenced to
15 years in prison to be followed by 10
years’ post-release supervision.
According to the charges, Tobin held
up a 32-year-old woman at knifepoint
around 11 p.m. on July 18, 2017, in
Kissena Park and demanded money.
Aft er the victim gave him cash from her
purse, he forced her to perform a sex act
and raped her at knifepoint.
In the second incident, Tobin also held
a knife to a 17-year-old female jogger
around 11 p.m. the following night in
the park, according to the charges. When
the teenager said that she had no money,
Tobin proceeded to force her to perform
a sex act as he held a knife to her neck.
“Th e city’s parks should be a safe place
to visit on any day at any time of the
day. Th is defendant, however, made this
peaceful green space a terrifying place
for women,” said Ryan.
into society,” a HPD spokeswoman
said. “None of the parolees are currently
residing at the hotel. Th e city
is working with the State Department
of Corrections (DOCCS) to fi nd these
individuals housing.”
Th e individuals had been vacated
from another residence for unsafe conditions,
and HPD stepped in to provide
relocation services. According to
HPD, “Th e Red Cross has an agreement
with the hotel where the individuals
were placed temporarily, but they
have since left .”
Th e relocation of the sex off enders
comes aft er state Senator John Liu
joined by Assembly members Nily Rozic
and Ed Braunstein and Councilmember
Paul Vallone on April 4 called for immediate
removal of the individuals by the
DOCCS at the Anchor Inn Motel, located
at 215-34 Northern Blvd.
“Nothing trumps the safety and security
for our families, especially the protection
of young children, and these
individuals must be moved out immediately,”
Liu said. “We also demand a clear
accounting of how this happened in the
fi rst place so it doesn’t get repeated.”
Th e eight registered sex off enders are
listed on the New York State Division
of Criminal Justice Services sex off ender
registry. Th ey are men who range in
age from 33 to 66. Four of the individuals
were said to be level 3, sexually violent
off enders.
When QNS had contacted the Anchor
Inn Motel for confi rmation, a businessman
claimed they knew nothing about
the men living on the premises.
Parents living within the vicinity of
the motel were alerted by Parents for
Megan’s Law, a Long Island-based group
dedicated to preventing child sex abuse.
They had stressed concerns of
their children attending the Learning
Experience’s Academy of Early
Education, located across the street
from the hotel, and illicit activity conducted
on the premises late at night.
According to the Department of
Criminal Justice, the Sex Off ender
Registration Act does not restrict where
a registered sex off ender may live.
However, if the off ender is under parole
or probation supervision, other New
York state laws may limit the off ender
from living within 1,000 feet of a school
or other facility caring for children.
In a statement to QNS, a DOCCS
spokesman said the men were relocated
to the Anchor Inn, which is compliant
with the state’s Sexual Assault Reform
Act (SARA) restrictions, following the
closure of their previous transitional
housing by New York City agencies.
Th e local lawmakers had blasted
city offi cials whose decision-making
brought the sex off enders within
close proximity of the pre-school
and demanded full accountability of the
placement in a family-friendly neighborhood.
“It’s always a cause for concern when
sex off enders are placed in a community,
but it becomes truly alarming when
their crimes are particularly heinous
and violent,” Vallone said.
Photo courtesy of NYRR
Photo via Wikimedia Commons / Raman Patel
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