8 The Courier sun • JUNE 23, 2016 for breaking news visit www.qns.com South Queens neighborhoods take longest to remove graffiti By Angela Matua amatua@qns.com/@AngelaMatua New Yorkers feel strongly about seeing graffiti on their streets, and one data visualization enthusiast has just made it easier for residents to find out the number of graffiti incidents reported in one year and how long it took to clean them up. Nicholas Reyland used data from the city’s open data portal to find the number of NYPD reported graffiti incidents by borough and the average number of days it took the city to clean it up, Viewing NYC first reported. Reyland didn’t respond to our requests to clarify what year the data is from. According to the data, there were 13,585 reports of graffiti over the course of a year and Queens ranked fourth in number of reported incidents with 2,042. Staten Island ranked last with only 241 reported incidents and Brooklyn took first place with 5,555 reported incidents of graffiti. Western Queens seems to have the most reported incidents of graffiti with Astoria, Long Island City and Jackson Heights being hit the hardest by street tags. Other areas such as Flushing, College Point and Whitestone also have a higher incident of graffiti compared to other neighborhoods in the borough. Not surprisingly, those same neighborhoods have some of the longest wait times for graffiti cleanups with an average of about 70 or more days to clean up the vandalism. In neighborhoods such as Jamaica and Howard Beach, the average number of days it took to clean up the graffiti was even longer. Earlier this year, Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced CleaNYC, a $4.2 million project to increase Graffiti-Free NYC efforts and sidewalk power washing in commercial corridors, as well as expand Sunday and holiday litter basket collection service and highway shoulder and ramp cleanup. Some Queens residents fed up with the graffiti in their neighborhoods have taken matters into their own hands. Whitestone resident Christine Ruppert Coniglio, observed a man tagging signs in Whitestone in May and called the 109th Precinct immediately. The culprit was arrested. The Greater Ridgewood Restoration Corporation (GRRC) has been running an anti-graffiti program for 25 years and residents of Ridgewood, Glendale, Maspeth and Middle Village can call GRRC cleaning crews who will use a hot water pressure washer and paint remover to clean graffiti on washable surfaces like brick. The crews also paint over nonwashable surfaces free of charge. The Courier reached out to Reyland for comment and is awaiting response. JAMAICA BAR CLOSED FOR SERVING UNDERAGE COEDS By Candace Higgins editorial@qns.com/@QueensCourier A Jamaica Hills bar with a history of underage drinking issues had its last call on Sunday. New Traditions Bar (colloquially Photo courtesy of Christ the King High School Pictured from left to right: Maddie Gaudio Cerrito, alumni executive assistant; Rosemarie Persico Rando, alumni executive assistant; Marian Gena Succoso, alumni development director; Maureen Engesser, board of trustee member; and Dolores St. Louis, board of trustee secretary. Christ the King appoints new alumni director By ANTHONY GIUDICE agiudice@qns.com/@A_GiudiceReport Christ the King High School is proud to announce that Marian Gena Succoso — graduate of the class of 1972 — will be their newest alumni director. Succoso will start at her new position beginning on July 11. Succoso comes back to Christ the King with a strong strategic marketing and communications background and extensive experience in both the corporate and non-for-profit sectors. Succoso was formerly the creative and advertising VP for Loews Hotel’s luxury resort and business chain, where she was responsible for print and electronic advertising, media, direct marketing, and website and brand development. Following her 25-plus-year career with Loews, Succoso moved to the nonprofit sector as director of development for Reece School in Manhattan. As a volunteer, she also served for 14 years as a trustee for the Tony Awardwinning Signature Theatre in Manhattan. referred to as “Trads”), located at 84-28 164th St., was shut down by the 107th Precinct after the pub had its license suspended by the State Liquor Authority (SLA). In the past, this bar has received numerous complaints from the nearby St. John’s University asking the business to be more cautious when serving their students. Trads has a reputation of serving alcohol to underage drinkers. An 18-year-old was found unconscious in the bar and another individual had to be treated at Queens Hospital Center for intoxication. Two local lawmakers in the area stand by the SLA’s decision to suspend the bar’s liquor license. “Traditions Pub routinely served underage drinkers and created a violent, raucous atmosphere that was a magnet for criminal activity,” Councilman Rory Lancman said. “It’s absolutely the correct move by the State Liquor Authority to shut it down.” “By continually serving underage drinkers and disregarding safety violations, Traditions Pub repeatedly put our community at risk,” Assemblyman David Weprin added. “After writing to the State Liquor Authority, I am pleased to hear that this pub has been placed on suspension.” New Traditions might be popular among college students, but not among the city’s health and wellness regulators. It was closed by the NYPD three times in March 2016 due to unsafe conditions. It was written up for having blocked windows, fire exit violations and overcrowding. Community Board 8 Chairperson Martha Taylor wants to keep the neighborhood safe and agrees that closing down the bar is ethical. “While I am gratified to learn that the NY State Liquor Authority has issued a Temporary Suspension of New Traditions’ license, I look forward to the complete and final cancellation or revocation of the license,” Taylor said. “New Traditions has violated many SLA regulations over and over again, creating extreme danger to the residents of our community, and should no longer be allowed to conduct business here.” The bar owners can appeal the charges with the SLA, but given the 24 different charges against them, it is unlikely they will succeed, according to Lancman. The Courier reached out to the bar for further comment, but the number was disconnected.
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