4 THE QUEENS COURIER • MAY 31, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
Taxi driver from Flushing missing
found dead in apparent suicide
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
A weeks-long search for a missing
Flushing man ended on May 27 when his
body was found fl oating in the East River
aft er apparently taking his own life.
Yumein Chow, 56, was discovered in
the waters of the East River near the
Brooklyn Bridge aft er police responded
to a 911 call of a man fl oating in
the water. Aft er the NYPD Harbor Unit
removed Chow, who was unconscious
and unresponsive, from the water, emergency
responders pronounced him dead
at the scene.
Chow was fi rst reported missing on May
11. He was last seen leaving his Flushing
residence along Francis Lewis Boulevard
at 7 a.m.
Th e medical examiner will determine
the cause of death.
According to Th e New York Times,
Chow, who went by the name “Kenny,”
was a New York City taxi driver. Friends
and family at a vigil on May 27 told the
publication they believe the Flushing man
jumped to his death aft er facing increasing
fi nancial pressure.
Chow’s apparent suicide reportedly
marks the fi ft h by a yellow cab driver in
the last fi ve months. In recent years, cab
drivers have struggled to make a livelihood
in the face of an increased demand
for transportation services like Uber and
Lyft and a decline in the value of the taxi
medallion.
In response to the tragedy, the New
York Taxi Workers Alliance were schedule
to rally on May 29 outside of City
Hall to urge lawmakers to level the playing
fi eld in the transportation service
industry.
A GoFundMe page titled “Remembering
NYC Cabbie Kenny Chow” has been set
up by a family member to benefi t Chow’s
wife and daughter.
Arrest made
in Ozone Pk. triple
shooting
BY ROBERT POZARYCKI
rpozarycki@qns.com / @robbpoz
An Ozone Park man appeared in
court on Wednesday for arraignment
on murder and other charges in connection
with Monday’s triple shooting
in the neighborhood.
Police arrested Denzel Floyd, 21, of
104th Street for his alleged role in the
May 28 incident that left one man dead
and two others injured.
Offi cers from the 106th Precinct
responded to a 911 call about the gunfi
re that erupted at 11:24 a.m. on May
28 at Floyd’s home on 104th Street near
Liberty Avenue.
Upon arriving at the residence, they
found Jonathan Polanco, 27, of 102nd
Street in Ozone Park shot in the neck.
Paramedics rushed him to Jamaica
Hospital, where he later died.
According to the New York Daily
News, Floyd allegedly shot Polanco
inside of the residence, then fl ed inside
a black Mazda with another man and a
woman. Th e vehicle wound up crashing
into two cars at the corner of 107th
Avenue and 111th Street.
Citing eyewitness accounts, the Daily
News reported that Floyd was seen
exiting the vehicle following the collision
and running toward the corner of
107th Avenue and 110th Street, where
he allegedly threw a pink handgun into
a nearby yard. Police later recovered
the weapon.
In responding to that incident, police
found a 28-year-old man inside the
Mazda with a gunshot wound to his
hand. Paramedics brought him to Jamaica
Hospital, where he was listed in stable condition.
Later that day, authorities said, the
NYPD learned that another 28-year-old
man connected to the shooting walked
into Long Island Jewish Medical Center
with a gunshot wound to his back; he is
currently listed in stable condition.
Floyd was charged on May 29 with
second-degree murder and attempted
murder, fi rst- and second-degree
assault, criminal possession of a weapon,
reckless endangerment and tampering
with physical evidence.
Th e investigation is ongoing, police
said.
Whitestone residents unveil restored ‘Welcome’ sign
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @smont76
Whitestone‘s most visible greeting is
back in its rightful place.
On May 23, the We Love Whitestone
Civic Association unveiled the newly
refurbished and re-installed “Welcome
to Whitestone” sign at Francis Lewis
Boulevard and the Cross Island Parkway
service road. Th e public greeting was
damaged during Winter Storm Stella in
March 2017 and missing in action since.
Th e sign was fi rst installed in November
2011 by the Welcome to Whitestone
Civic Association. During the winter
storm in 2017, the sign was knocked over
by the wind and suff ered some dents
aft er falling facedown into the snow and
ice.
It took a village to see beloved greeting
restored, according to We Love
Whitestone civic president Alfredo
Centola.
In the months following its fall, the
sign was repaired by a civic member’s
relative, a woodworker, and transported
by another civic member to Brooklyn
for repainting. It was then carted back to
Whitestone.
Many civic members made donations
to cover refurbishing expenses, Centola
said. Th e group will use excess funds to
cover beautifying the area immediately
surrounding the sign.
“Th is is a great community we have
here,” We Love Whitestone vice president
George Mirtsopolous said at the
unveiling ceremony. “Every time we do
something, every time we need some
help, everybody steps up.”
Photo by Robert Stridiron
Police continue to investigate a triple shooting
in Ozone Park on Memorial Day that left
one man dead and two others injured.
Photo via GoFundMe
A memorial assembled at the vigil near the East River on May 27
Photos by Dominick Totino
We Love Whitestone civic members unveil the sign on May 23
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