FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 3, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Video shows robbers ambush
teen in Flushing
D e t e c t i v e s
need the public’s
help in fi nding
three crooks
who mugged a
17-year-old male
in Flushing in a
daytime attack
caught on camera.
Law enforcement
sources
said the robbery
occurred in front of a home on Quince Avenue between Bowne
Street and Parsons Boulevard at 12:30 p.m. on April 28.
The dramatic security camera footage, which can be seen
on QNS.com, shows a white, four-door sedan pulling up
near the teenager, who was using his smartphone at a time.
The vehicle then moved along a distance up the block before
stopping.
Th ree individuals then exited the sedan, ran up to the teenager
from behind and attacked him. Th e group wrestled the suspect to
the ground and removed his sneakers and wallet; police said the
wallet contained $10 in cash and a debit card.
One by one, the bandits ran back to the sedan, with the victim
giving chase. Th e victim appeared to try and open the front
passenger side door, but failed to do so as the sedan pulled away
northbound along Quince Street.
Offi cers from the 109th Precinct were informed of the robbery.
Th e victim was treated at Flushing Hospital for minor injuries
including knee and arm lacerations.
Police described all three suspects as light-skinned males
between 17 and 20 years of age. One of them wore a white t-shirt
and dark colored pants; a second individual wore a black hooded
sweatshirt, red sweatpants with white stripes, and black sneakers;
and the third bandit wore a red t-shirt, dark colored pants and
white sneakers.
Call 800-577-TIPS with any information regarding the case.
Robert Pozarycki
Still no word on cause of deadly
Queens blaze
Fire marshals
are continuing
to investigate a
deadly, threealarm
house
fi re in Queens
Village on
Saturday night
that claimed
three lives and
injured eight
other victims.
According to
police, the blaze erupted at about 11:55 p.m. on April 28 at a
two-story home on 211th Street near 93rd Avenue. Th e New York
Daily News reported that the fi re broke out during a party inside
the residence.
More than 180 fi refi ghters responded to the fi re and removed 11
victims with burns and smoke inhalation. Paramedics rushed all
of them to local hospitals.
Th ree of the victims — Pyara Kainth, 87; Ragvir Kaur-Kainth,
82; and Harleen Kaur, 32, each of whom resided at the home —
died a short time later from their injuries. Th e Medical Examiner’s
offi ce will determine the cause of their deaths.
Meanwhile, an 8-year-old girl injured in the blaze was rushed
to Nassau County Medical Center in critical condition. Two critically
injured men, ages 53 and 56, were taken to Queens Hospital
Center.
Five other male victims, ranging in age from 6 to 45, were hospitalized
in stable condition.
Th e cause of the blaze remains under investigation.
Robert Pozarycki
Eastern Queens site
defaced with anti-Semitic
graffi ti for second time
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Queens leaders and locals met in Jamaica Estates
to condemn a second set of anti-Semitic graffi ti
discovered on a neighborhood site.
On April 21, resident Ami Reschke fi rst noticed
the hateful graffi ti, which included swastikas
and other threatening imagery, on the facade of
the now-defunct Holliswood Hospital at 87-37
Palermo St.
Reschke reported his fi ndings to Rabbi Moshe
Taub of Young Israel of Holliswood, who contacted
Assemblyman David Weprin. Offi cials at
the 107th Precinct have since covered the graffi -
ti with paint and are investigating the incident as
a hate crime.
Th e markings are reminiscent to those discovered
on the structure in June 2017, when swastikas
and racial slurs were found on the exterior
and interior of the building. Th e perpetrators were
never caught, according to Weprin.
On April 27, the assemblyman, Councilman
Barry Grodenchik, local leaders and homeowners
met at the site to condemn the act.
“If a picture is worth a thousand words, that
image of a swastika is worth about 6 million words
and cries,” Taub said. “I hope that we could certainly
rectify this horrible situation and never see
it again; but also note the image of a unifi ed community
today.”
“We will not tolerate hate in our neighborhood
or in any neighborhood,” Weprin added. “Th e hate
crime in this case may be against the Jewish community,
but a hate crime against anyone is a hate
crime against all of us.”
Th ough the hospital structure still stands, a construction
project to bring a 20-home development
to the site is already underway. Property owner
Steven Zhang, who was present for the press conference,
condemned the hateful graffi ti and said he
would cooperate with authorities to fi nd the perpetrators.
“We wonder why we’re here again,” Community
Board 8 chairperson Martha Taylor said. “Th is has
to stop. It’s a disgrace … I don’t know who’s doing
this, but they have to be stopped.”
Grodenchik urged the perpetrators “to fi nd
something better to do with their time.”
“We stand united,” the councilman said. “Th is
is an extremely diverse community here in eastern
Queens. We stand always, always against hate.”
A report released by the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) in February revealed that Queens
saw the largest increase in anti-Semitic incidents
in New York during 2017. A total of 380 incidents
were reported throughout the state in 2017; over
half of these acts were vandalism.
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