FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 16, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 21
Queens councilman moves to ban possession of untraceable ‘ghost guns’
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Calling his new legislation a no-brainer,
Councilman I. Daneek Miller and
Manhattan Councilwoman Helen
Rosenthal introduced measures banning
the possession of unfi nished lower gun
frames or receivers, which are then used
to create untraceable fi rearms or so-called
“ghost guns.”
Do-it-yourself ghost guns and 3-D
printed guns are especially popular
among people who are not able to purchase
guns legally because they have no
serial numbers, which makes them virtually
untraceable by law enforcement and
allows criminals to bypass background
checks and licensing laws. Ghost guns
can also be customized because they are
assembled from unfi nished parts which
are bought online.
Miller’s bill would require the NYPD
to track and document incidents involving
these weapons. Only two states currently
regulate ghost guns and while similar
measures are pending in Albany and
Congress, but the two council members
are working with a sense of urgency in
New York City.
“New York is a national leader in
gun-violence prevention, and the City
Council has historically been at the forefront
of its eff orts to stem the use of deadly
fi rearms,” Miller said. “No one should
possess do-it-yourself capability to make
or assemble unregulated, unregistered
and untraceable guns. As Congress and
the Legislature debate the issue, we are
acting forcefully to give law enforcement
the tools necessary to arrest gun buyers
and suppliers, confi scate these weapons of
war, and accurately assess the availability
of ghost guns on our streets before tragedy
strikes.”
Rosenthal’s bill will make it illegal to
possess or dispose of an unfi nished frame
or receiver, unfi nished frames that represent
80 percent of a completed gun,
with the remaining 20 percent easily purchased
online or even in a hardware store.
Violators would be charged with a misdemeanor,
punishable by a maximum fi ne
of $1,000, or imprisonment for one year,
or both.
Th e bills have been endorsed by
Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms
Demand Action for Gun Sense in
America.
“It’s encouraging to see out local offi cials
take this step towards keeping our communities
safe,” Moms Demand Action
New York Chapter Volunteer June Rubin
said. “Th is legislation will help keep guns
out of the hands of those who shouldn’t
have them and prevent people from building
guns that cannot be traced by law
enforcement. We hope our state lawmakers
will follow suit and pass similar legislation
to protect the entire state.”
In March, an investigation of a suspected
cocaine ring in southern New Jersey
led to the discovery that the ring was selling
AR-15 style ghost guns, the parts of
which were shipped to a Pennsylvania
in an attempt to circumvent New Jersey’s
new laws. Th e AR-15 is the weapon of
choice in so many of the mass shootings
that have tormented the nation for years.
“Even with some of the country’s strictest
gun laws, there are far too many
ways for guns to end up on our streets,
which is why these bills regarding
untraceable guns are critical for the public
safety of all New Yorkers,” said Queens
Councilman Donovan Richards, Chair of
the Committee on Public Safety.
Borough Hall
hosts meeting
on gun violence
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Calling the gun violence epidemic
both a public health and safety issue,
Queens Borough President Melinda
Katz announced she will cohost a town
hall meeting with Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams and several community
based organizations that are on
the front lines in the battle against guns.
Th e meeting will take place at
Borough Hall in Kew Gardens on
Th ursday, May 30, at 6 p.m., just two
days before the start of Gun Violence
Awareness Month in June. City agencies
and law enforcement will be on
hand to discuss how to disarm violence
in communities that continue to torment
youth and families with devastating
consequences.
“We cannot cure the epidemic of gun
violence through policing and locking
up those who run afoul of the law,” Katz
said. “If we’re serious about ridding
our society of the scourge of gun violence
everywhere, we must deconstruct
the normalization of gun violence. It
is imperative that as a city, we direct
our collective focus toward prevention
through the promotion of peace
and intervention, as well as increasing
resources to investigate and prosecute
those who traffi c guns into our communities.”
According to City Hall, crime has
dropped dramatically across Queens
in recent decades, with both Patrol
Borough Queens North and Patrol
Borough Queens South having seen
murders decline by more than 75 percent
since 1990. However, far too many
families are losing loved ones to gun violence,
either as the victim of the shooting
or as the perpetrator, every day.
“We see the realities of horrifi c gun violence
every day, on our screens and in
our streets,” Williams said. “Combating
this pandemic means implementing
strategies at all levels of government
and in partnership with community
groups doing the hard work of violence
prevention and intervention on
the ground.”
Katz is one of seven candidates running
for Queens District Attorney and
last month she rolled out her plan of
action to address gun violence in the
borough.
Anyone interested in attending is
encouraged to RSVP at www.queensbp.
org/rsvp or call 718-286-2661.
Full length of Rockaway Beach to reopen for summer
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Rockaway Beach is whole again.
Mayor Bill de Blasio joined elected offi cials
at Beach 94th Street Tuesday to announce the
sand restoration operation mounted by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was successful.
Now, the popular stretch of the beach
from Beach 92nd Street to Beach 103rd
Street, which was closed all last season
due to erosion that made the area unsafe
for swimming, will be open in time for
Memorial Day weekend.
“For New Yorkers, summer means
Rockaway Beach. Th at’s why I could not
be happier to announce we will have
the entire beach open in time for the
Memorial Day weekend,” de Blasio said.
“I want to thank all the stakeholders who
came together to make the hopes of so
many New Yorkers a reality. We could not
have done it without your partnership.”
Th e Corps dredged the East Rockaway
Inlet and pumped the sand two and a half
miles west where bulldozers restored the
beach.
“Getting tons of sand onto Rockaway
Beach in time for summer, and avoid a
repeat disaster of prime time beach closures,
required every level of government
to dig in deep,” Senator Charles Schumer
said. “And using the sand from the East
Rockaway dredge was a win-win plan
because it keeps open a vital channel and
all of Rockaway Beach.”
Th e closure last summer hurt restaurants
and bars in the neighborhood such
as Connolly’s, Bungalow Bar, Community
House, Th ai Rock and Uma’s.
“Th is is great news, not only for the residents
of the Rockaways, but also for the local
business owners who suff ered because of last
year’s beach closure,” Councilman Eric Ulrich
said. “I am looking forward to a wonderful
beach season where people from all over the
city can enjoy Rockaway’s beautiful beaches.”
In 2013, the Army Corps of Engineers
placed 3.5 million cubic yards of sand on
Rockaway Beach following Superstorm
Sandy but infrastructure was never constructed
to keep it in place. Th e New York
District is awaiting fi nal approvals from
USACE headquarters for the Rockaway
and Jamaica Bay Reevaluation Report,
which will authorize construction of erosion
control features such as jetties and
new groins at federal expense.
“I applaud the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, my partners in government,
and most importantly our community for
a huge victory today,” Assemblywoman
Stacey Pheff er Amato said. “Th e replenishment
will serve as temporary relief for
the yearslong erosion plaguing our beaches.
Th is is a positive fi rst step and in order
to fully protect our community we need
permanent measures as soon as possible.”
A fully opened Rockaway Beach is vital
to the peninsula’s economy.
“Rockaway Beach is the bedrock of the
surrounding Queens communities and a
lifeblood for the economy, and we must
do everything we can to protect our coastal
communities from extreme weather
and erosion,” Comptroller Scott Stringer
said.Th
e city’s public beaches will be open for
swimming starting Saturday, May 25, and
remain open through Sunday, Sept. 8.
Courtesy of the NYPD
Photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Offi ce
Mayor Bill de Blasio visits Rockaway Beach to announce that it will reopen in time for the summer,
on Tuesday, May 14.
Courtesy of Miller’s offi ce
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