FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 10, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Century-old cab
company in Bayside is
no more
Longtime Bayside business Kelly’s Car Service
has merged with Long Island-based Ollie’s Cab
Service, according to a source familiar with the
transaction.
Kelly’s Car Service vacated its offi ce space at
212-35 42nd Ave., next to the Bayside LIRR station,
earlier this year. Each number associated
with the business is no longer in service.
Kelly’s Car Service was established in 1914 and
off ered a 24-hour transportation services to the
community.
Th e Courier directed an inquiry about the
merger to Ollie’s Cab Service, which remained
unanswered as of press time. A former employee
for Kelly’s declined to comment.
Suzanne Monteverdi
Yeshiva in Kew Gardens
targeted by criminals
A Kew Gardens yeshiva has become the center
of a recent hate crime and a string of burglaries
since November 2017.
According to a published report, at around 8
p.m. on May 6, a 14-year-old boy was walking
outside of Yeshivath Shaar HaTorah, located at
117-06 84th Ave., when he was approached by
an unknown white man.
Th e man proceeded to punch the boy in the
face and cursed him out, calling the victim “Jew
boy.”
Police say that the victim received medical
attention at the scene. It is not clear at this time
if the boy was a student at the school.
Police confi rmed that the case has been handed
over to the NYPD’s Hate Crimes Task Force
and that the assault is being looked into as a
bias incident.
Yeshivath Shaar Hatorah has also become the
target of a burglar who broke into the school
several times in the past six months. Police
reported that at 2 a.m. on Nov. 19, 2017, an
unknown individual entered the school and
stole two pairs of headphones valued at $200
and fl ed the scene in an unknown direction.
Months later on March 17, 2018, the suspect
returned to the school at 4 a.m. and took a laptop
and computer accessories worth $200. Th e
crook would return to the school for a third
time at 3:35 a.m. on March 24, stealing $600
worth of quarters from the soda machine.
Offi cials say that at 2:34 a.m. on April 7, the
same suspect entered Khal Adas Yereim, located
at 122-31 Metropolitan Ave., through the
side entrance. Once inside, the thief took two
charity boxes that contained an undetermined
amount of cash and then fl ed the scene in an
unknown direction.
Th e suspect then came back to Yeshiva Shaar
HaTorah later that same month. During the
fi ft h incident, the crook was caught on video
entering the school at 5 a.m. on April 28. Once
inside, the suspect took $300 from a soda
machine and fl ed the scene in an unknown
direction.
At this time, it does not appear that the burglaries
are related to the reported hate crime.
Anyone with information in regards to these
incidents is asked to call the NYPD’s Crime
Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477) or for
Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782). All calls are
kept confi dential.
Emily Davenport
Photos by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
Public outcry prompts new
four-way stop in Whitestone
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A planned day of outrage turned
into “a day of relief” when the city
fi nally installed a long sought safety
improvement in Whitestone hours
ahead of a scheduled press conference.
On the morning of May 4, the city
Department of Transportation (DOT)
established an all-way stop at 17th
Road and Murray Street. Hours later,
the intersection was to be the site of a
press conference, organized by the We
Love Whitestone Civic Association.
“Today turned out to be a day of
relief. It’s a great start,” civic president
Alfredo Centola said at the conference.
“Seven o’clock this morning,
DOT was here and they put the two
new signs and added the triangle sign
that said, ‘New.’”
Frustrated with a lack of action by
the city and in the wake of another
collision, the group decided to organize
the press conference in late April
as a way to bring more attention to the
dangerous intersection.
On Nov. 23, the intersection was
the site of a hit-and-run that left a
71-year-old pedestrian in critical condition.
A 52-year-old Corona man,
Carmine Minichino, is accused of
hitting the pedestrian. Minichino
allegedly had a blood alcohol level
nearly twice the legal limit, prosecutors
later announced.
Th e conversation surrounding the
intersection reignited again on April
23 when resident Joseph Angenbroich
live-streamed the latest auto collision
to the civic group’s Facebook page.
Th e press conference was organized in
the following days.
Locals said they’ve been asking for
safety measures at the location for
years. In recent months, Angenbroich
took initiative, gathering evidence of
collisions and close calls at the location
from a security camera posted on
his property.
Angenbroich also created a petition
late last year calling on the city
to install additional safety measures at
the accident-prone site. He collected
over 1,500 signatures.
“It’s been a long time coming,” he
said. “Living on this corner for so long
you see a lot of things, unfortunately,
when it comes to accidents … It’s a
big win for Whitestone.”
Centola thanked DOT for putting
the safety measure in place. He
also commended the 109th Precinct,
who sent the city agency intelligence
reports about the intersection, and
Councilman Paul Vallone’s offi ce
for advocating on the community’s
behalf.
“Today’s a big win for the community,”
Centola said. “Th is is going
on for 20 years. We have letters and
emails from DOT stating that they
did studies and this block did not warrant
any other stop signs, four-way
stop signs, etc. Th ank God that has
changed.”
On May 9, DOT returned to the site
to lay the appropriate white markings
down on the street, according to
Centola.
“Our office and community
have been advocating for this allway
stop sign and this is a victory
for Whitestone,” Councilman Paul
Vallone said in a statement. “We’re
hoping this decision leads to similar
decisions in northeast Queens as we
work with the DOT and our community
leaders to address similarly concerning
intersections.”
Vallone said he is working with
DOT to secure safety changes at
the intersections of 12th Road, 12th
Avenue and 150th Street, as well as 3rd
Avenue and Whitestone Expressway
service road, where residents are also
reporting dangerous conditions.
The intersection of Murray Street and 17th Road now features an all-way stop
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