4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 25, 2017 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM Photo via Wikimedia Commons/Ciskevin Dead man found in Alley Pond Park suff ered multiple stab wounds BY ROBERT POZARYCKI [email protected]/@robbpoz Homicide detectives are investigating the death of a 16-year-old male whose decomposed body was found inside of Alley Pond Park on Sunday aft ernoon aft er an autopsy revealed that he had been stabbed 28 times, police reported. Police sources identifi ed the victim as Julio Vasquez, 16, of 166th Street in St. Albans. Sources familiar with the investigation said that Vasquez was a reputed street gang member who had a prior arrest record. A birdwatcher inside of the park made the gruesome discovery at 1:55 p.m. on May 21 in a heavily wooded area of the park off the intersection of 76th Avenue and Cloverdale Boulevard in the Oakland Gardens section of Bayside, according to the New York Daily News. Officers from the 111th Precinct responded to the scene along with EMS units. Vasquez’s body was transported to the Offi ce of the Chief Medical Examiner, which declared his death a homicide aft er an autopsy revealed that Vasquez had sustained 28 stab wounds about his body. Geoff rey Croft of NYC Parks Advocates reported that Vasquez may have been dead in the park for up to a week. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing. Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/QNS Fire Commissioner Daniel A. Nigro speaks at the We Love Whitestone civic meeting on May 17. Fire commish Talks safety in Whitestone BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] / @smont76 Th e city’s Fire Commissioner stopped by the May 17 We Love Whitestone civic meeting to talk about changes he’s seen in the department over the years and what residents can do to enhance fi re safety for their families. Daniel Nigro, who lives in Whitestone, has led the FDNY for three years; he discussed the diff erent challenges the Department faces today. “Our Fire Department today, as compared to the Fire Department that I started in in 1969, is quite a bit diff erent,” Nigro said. “Th e challenges have grown exponentially, and I think that the department has grown, very much, to face those challenges.” Response time in the area has been reduced to six and a half minutes for serious calls, despite the Department seeing a record number of calls last year, Nigro said. Citywide in 2016, the FDNY answered 1.7 million calls and had the lowest number of fi re deaths — 48 — in recorded history. “It was the busiest year in the Department’s history,” the Fire Commissioner said. “Th ere’s quite a growing demand to the services of the Fire Department … medical calls, emergencies, gas leaks, water leaks: you name it, we respond. Nobody provides help better than the city of New York.” And, in this day and age when terrorism is on the forefront of everyone’s minds, Nigro continued, the Department “has never worked closer” with the NYPD to combat threats to the city. To help keep families and neighborhoods safe, Nigro reminded attendees how essential it is for homes to have working smoke and CO alarms installed in their homes. At the home in Queens Village which broke out in fl ames last month, claiming the lives of fi ve young people inside, there were no working smoke alarms, the Fire Commissioner said. “Nothing is sadder than seeing fi refi ghters carry out children,” Nigro said. “Smoke alarms are a simple thing; it’s a cheap thing.” Th e Fire Commissioner said the number one cause of fi res, for many years, was smoking. While smoking still accounts for a large number of fi res, today, the biggest cause are misuse of extension cords and power strips. Nigro encourage residents to use the strips at a minimum and make sure any in use are “UL approved,” which means it’s been safety tested. “It seems like a simple thing,” Nigro said. “But these are some of the things we can do to help ourselves.” Learn more about fi re and life safety by visiting the FDNY website, www.nyc.gov/FDNY. Holy Cross H.S. goes co-ed in 2018 BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI [email protected] / @smont76 One of Queens’ last all-boys high schools, Holy Cross High School, will welcome female students next year, the Flushing institution announced on May 18. Holy Cross, a private Catholic institution located at 26-20 Francis Lewis Blvd., will begin teaching both young men and women in September 2018, welcoming them to the Class of 2022. “Holy Cross High School recognizes that there are many capable and qualifi ed young women who are desirous of strong, values-based instruction provided in a safe and nurturing co-educational environment,” the school said in a statement posted to its website. Earlier this month, the school also announced that it had received an anonymous $1 million donation “from a very successful and forward-thinking alumnus” to support the school’s stand-out Science, Th eology, Robotics, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (STREAM) curriculum. Opportunities within the program will be available to all students at the school. “Th is is a momentous step,” said Holy Cross Principal Ed Burns. “As an alumnus of the school, I am proud of the thorough evaluation of this opportunity undertaken by our senior leadership team, our Board of Directors, and our Board of Corporate Members. As a school sponsored by the Congregation of Holy Cross, we are not alone. We have many resources across the country to guide us in each step we will be taking as we make this important transition.” Because the school already has a diverse group of educators, many who have also taught previously in co-ed institutions, a representative for the school explained, the school does not believe it will need to hire additional faculty to facilitate the change. No changes in tuition are planned at this time. Flushing’s Holy Cross High School was founded in 1955 by the Congregation of Holy Cross, which continues to sponsor the school today. The college-preparatory school’s mission is to guide and further the religious, educational, social and athletic lives of its students. Learn more by visiting the school’s website, www.holycrosshs.org. Holy Cross High School will go co-ed in 2018.
SC05252017
To see the actual publication please follow the link above