FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.couriersun.com may 8, 2014 • The Courier SUN 3 THE COURIER/Photo by Liam La Guerre Craft beer makers Kevin Stafford and Basil Lee will soon open their long-awaited Finback Brewery. Steinway Mansion sold to unknown buyers BY ANGY ALTAMIRANO [email protected] @aaltamirano28 The landmarked Steinway Mansion is officially off the market. The home that sits on top of a hill at 18-33 41st St. has been sold to two unidentified Astoria buyers who grew up in the neighborhood, according to city Councilman Costa Constantinides. Constantinides said he met with the two local men prior to their purchase of the home and they have no plans of changing it to a night club or dining hall but instead want to open it as community space. “I was really glad they came to speak with the neighborhood first. They really want to work with local officials and the community to make sure it stays part of neighborhood,” Constantinides said. “They really want to work with the neighborhood. They want it to be something that celebrates the great history of Astoria.” The home, which was built in the 1850s, was sold for $2.6 million, according to published reports. It had reportedly been on the market for about two years and in March a private buyer was said to be in contract to purchase the home. GLENDALE’S FINBACK BREWERY FINALLY READY TO SURFACE BY LIAM LA GUERE [email protected]/@liamlaguerre The new brewery in Glendale is sending out a whale call — for beer lovers around the city. Finback Brewery will open on May 10, the Glendale establishment The Astoria mansion was built by Benjamin Pike and was later sold to the Steinway family as a summer home around 1870, with the Steinway & Sons piano factory built decades later only a few blocks away. In the 1920s, the home was sold to the Halberian family and has stayed in the family ever since. It was later selected as a New York City Landmark in 1967. Flushing House hosts a special “Open House Week.” Its Open House Week runs from May 12 to May 16, 2 to 4 p.m. each day. There are also evening hours on May 12 and May 16, 6 to 8 p.m. Learn why New York Magazine named Flushing House one of the Top-Rated Senior Communities. Come experience everything that’s new at New York State’s largest, not-for-profit, “Independent Living” retirement community. FREE parking lot available off of 38th Avenue. Refreshments will be served. Seating is limited and attendance is by reservation only. Please call 718-762-3198 or 347-532-3025. Flushing House, 38-20 Bowne St., Flushing. Event is FREE, but as seating is limited, so please RSVP today! Howard Beach man sold 12 stolen vehicles for scrap metal: DA BY CRI STABELLE TUMOLA [email protected] @CristabelleT A Howard Beach man was busted for allegedly selling a dozen stolen vehicles to Long Island scrap yards and pocketing thousands of dollars in return. “As the price of scrap metal increases, thieves are growing more aggressive and taking advantage of a quirk in the law which allows them to dispose of vehicles eight years or older without proof of title, District Attorney Richard Brown said. “They simply show their driver’s license at the scrap yard, fill out a DMV form stating that they are the delivery agent or the vehicle’s owner and leave with cash in their pocket – and their victims without a ride.” John M. Brew, 35, is accused of pawning off 12 vehicles to Universal Scrap Processes and Gershow Recycling on Long Island between February 4 and April 7 of this year. He was allegedly paid $600 to $750 per vehicle, which would each then be crushed. Brew was able to sell the vehicles by showing a DMV form signed by him that listed himself as the vehicle owner, along with a New York State driver’s license, Brown said. He sometimes would also trick the scrap yards into thinking he had the vehicle’s key by allegedly saying the ignition was broken and placing a fake key in the ignition. The stolen vehicles Brew sold included two Dodge Caravans, model years 1993 and 1995, and 10 Ford Econoline Vans with the model years ranging from 1998 through 2006, according to the district attorney. Brew was arraigned in Queens Criminal Court Friday on charges of grand larceny, criminal possession of stolen property, falsifying business records and unauthorized use of a vehicle, prosecutors said. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. announced via Twitter, after months of setbacks. “It’s been a long year of getting the tasting room ready and it’s now time for some beer with friends,” the brewery’s owners said in an email. Craft beer makers Kevin Stafford and Basil Lee were planning to open the new Queens brewery last November, but construction delayed its debut. In the past few months the brewery has been selling its beer in bars around the city. The beer makers will host a grand opening party in the brewery’s tasting room at 2 p.m. Then starting on Sunday, the brewery will be open for regular hours. Lee, a Harvard-educated architect, and Stafford, an art designer, were frequent home brewers, but finally decided to take the leap a few years ago to open a full brick-and-beer location. The name Finback Brewery is a tribute to the finback whale that washed up on the shores of Breezy Point in 2012. Photo Courtesy of Gary Vollo
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