38 THE QUEENS COURIER • JUNE 28, 2018 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
112th Precinct introduces new commanding officer
BY RYAN KELLEY
rkelley@qns.com
Twitter @R_Kelley6
The meeting room inside the 112th
Precinct station in Forest Hills was
packed to capacity on June 25 as the force
introduced its newest commanding officer
to the community.
Captain John Cermeli, a native of
Middle Village, took the podium to a
round of applause after being introduced
at the 112th Precinct Community
Council meeting by Council President
Heidi Chain and Chief Steven Silks, executive
officer for Patrol Borough Queens
North.
Cermeli, who previously served as the
executive officer for the 112th Precinct,
received an award right away from the
council.
Chain explained that she had wanted
to give Cermeli the award for his great
service to the 112 when he was stationed
there, but he got transferred before she
got the chance.
“So I figured, what a great way to start,”
Chain said, receiving laughter from the
crowd. “So the first thing I am officially
doing for you is giving you an award.”
Cermeli first took the opportunity to
thank Chain, Silks and Councilwoman
Karen Koslowitz, as well as his parents
who came to celebrate the occasion. His
mother, Maria, was a city teacher and his
father, Robert, was an architectural engineer
for the city and is a current member
of Community Board 5. From them,
Captain Cermeli said, he learned the values
of civil service and the desire to help
others.
The commanding officer attended
St. Margaret School in Middle Village
and Archbishop Molloy High School in
Briarwood before going on to study criminal
law at SUNY Old Westbury. After the
terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Cermeli
said he knew his calling was law enforcement,
and he joined the NYPD a few
months later.
He began his career as a police officer
in the Midtown South Precinct in
Manhattan, and his supervisory career
has since taken him all throughout
Queens. He served as a sergeant in
Queens South preventing violent crimes,
a lieutenant in the 114th Precinct in
Astoria, a special operations lieutenant
in the 108th Precinct in Long Island
City, the lieutenant for the Queens North
Counterterrorism unit, the executive officer
of the 109th Precinct in Flushing and
the executive officer of the 110th Precinct
in Corona.
“I’m blessed now to be back as your
commanding officer,” Cermeli said. “Not
only because it’s familiar territory to me,
but because this is an amazing community
made up of hard-working people who
support their police and want to see their
neighborhood continue to thrive.”
Cermeli then gave the floor to Koslowitz,
who swore in the board members of
the council who will all remain in their
same positions after the summer recess.
Koslowitz also spoke briefly about the
funding she secured in the city budget that
she plans to put toward senior centers and
youth programs, and she reiterated her
opposition to the Queens Boulevard bike
lanes in light of Ben’s Best Delicatessen
and other local businesses citing them as
Captain John Cermeli speaks to the crowd at the 112th Precinct Community Council meeting on June
25 after being introduced as the precinct’s new commanding officer.
a primary reason for a loss in customers.
“How can I, as your Council member,
not listen to my constituents?” Koslowitz
said to the crowd. “I’ve gotten so many
calls to my office complaining about the
bike lanes ... so I feel it’s my obligation
to come out against the next phase of the
bike lanes.”
Senator Joseph Addabbo also stopped
by the meeting and Cermeli introduced
him, explaining that he and the fellow
Molloy graduate share the same mentor
in teacher John Diorio, who recently
retired from Molloy after 59 years.
Addabbo stated that for the first time
in his career he felt as though there was
“unfinished business” when the 2018 legislative
session ended. The main thing he
was disappointed in was the lack of action
Photo by Ryan Kelley/Queens Courier
taken to extend the use of speed cameras
around schools, for which the pilot program
is set to expire in July.
Cermeli concluded the meeting by
updating the community with the crime
statistics.
During the past 28 days there have been
two fewer robberies and seven fewer burglaries
than the previous month, Cermeli
said. He also warned residents about
mailbox fishing — or even mailbox stealing
— and mentioned that an arrest was
made very quickly in the case of an MTA
worked getting assaulted while off duty in
Kew Gardens.
In addition, Cermeli announced that
the Neighborhood Coordination Officers
program will begin in the 112th Precinct
in two weeks.
Second phase of Hunters Point South park opens
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
Long Island City residents now
have 5.5 more acres of park to enjoy.
On June 27, the New York City Economic
Development Corporation NYCEDC,
Queens elected officials and other attendees
gathered to celebrate the completion
of Hunter Point Park’s second phase.
“We recognize that Long Island City has
been historically underserved by parks
because of its industrial past, but we’ve been
converting what we can to turn as much
former, industrial waterfront into green
space as possible,” said James Patchett,
the president and CEO of the NYCEDC.
The second phase of the Hunters Point
Park has been opened to the public since
June 21 and features several state-of-theart
amenities. Parkgoers are now able
to enjoy the scenic waterfront views as
well as fitness equipment, a linear park, a
kayak launch and various walking paths.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
recalled his time serving on Community
Board 2, which he credits with helping
the park come into fruition.
“I was on the land use committee of
Community Board 2 at that time when Joe
Conley was our chair, and people wanted
this park to be one that was as green as
it is, with as much passive recreation as it is
and to have so much in this park that was
envisioned there,” the councilman said.
Right across the street from the festivities,
a group of Citylights protesters gathered
to demand that the city authorize
renegotiation of the building’s paymentin
lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreement
before a tax bill puts their homes at risk.
“As this community grows, as these beautiful
amenities are opened here, that
this has not just become a playground
for the wealthy,” Senator Gianaris said.
The senator addressed the Citylights
protesters directly, and asked Patchett
to communicate a message to the city.
“Yes, the state needs to step up, but the
city needs to step up too, because these are
the people who have made this community
what it is. These are the people who
have made it so desirable for others to
come here, and the last thing we want to
do is drive them out of the neighborhood
because it becomes too expensive,” he said.
Last week, Citylights residents protested
for the state to take action, outside
of the LIC Summit. As a result, the state
responded that they are “ready and willing
with a workable solution to address
the needs of residents of Citylights and
we are waiting on the city’s mandated
written consent to move forward.”
“Decades ago, I bought my apartment
at Citylights because I was promised it
would stay affordable. Now, because of
government failure, I am at risk of losing
my home. The government made
this mess and now it’s time for them to
clean it up,” said Citylights resident Brett
Crandall.
Other attendees at the park’s ribbon
cutting included NYC Parks Department
Commissioner Mitchell Silver, Queens
Borough President Melinda Katz, Rob
Basch, the president of the Hunters Point
Park Conservancy and Denise Keehan-
Smith, the chairwoman of Community
Board 2.
Photo by Jenna Bagcal/THE COURIER
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