4 THE QUEENS COURIER • JULY 1, 2021 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
MTA commends offi cers who protected dog on escape to Queens
Queens leaders pass legislation to protect Jamaica Bay
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Two Queens lawmakers applauded the
passage of their legislation that would
protect the pristine waters of Jamaica Bay,
which has become home to marine life
not seen in decades.
Assemblywoman Stacey Pheff er Amato
and state Senator Joseph Addabbo vowed
to navigate the measure through both
chambers of the Legislature for a fourth
time aft er Governor Andrew Cuomo
vetoed the bill three times in past legislative
sessions.
“Th e priority and necessity of this bill is
clear. My colleagues in the Assembly see
the value of this bill, and the importance
of protecting our environment,” Pheff er
Amato said. “Both houses have passed
this bill for three sessions in a row, only
for Governor Cuomo to veto it. It’s more
important than ever to invest in Jamaica
Bay and ensure that our standards are up
to the highest standards, and we can never
turn back.”
Th e legislation would increase the standard
of dredging materials placed into
Jamaica Bay’s borrow pits which are also
known as a sandbox. It is an area where
material such as soil, gravel or sand has
been dug up for use at another location.
In his last veto statement on the bill,
Cuomo said the legislation would change
the criteria for fi lling Jamaica Bay borrow
pits to comply with the federal criteria
for the unrestricted ocean dumping of
dredged material, which is not applicable
to Jamaica Bay.
Under the legislation, the state
Department of Environmental
Conservation would be required to utilize
more restrictive and costly federal
ocean dumping criteria to test
the materials instead of DEC’s existing
standard.
“In recent years, Jamaica Bay has seen
a resurgence of marine wildlife due to
cleaner and healthier waters. However,
our eff orts to protect the bay is not over,”
Addabbo said. “Bill S.2205/A.453 seeks to
further protect Jamaica Bay by strengthening
the protections of the bay’s waters
with stricter restrictions on what kind of
materials are allowed to be used to fi ll the
borrow pits. We hope to see this bill pass
so future generations can benefi t from
this vital waterway. We hope Governor
Cuomo will sign this important bill into
law.”
Local community advocates, including
the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers, have
praised the bill and how much it has
improved the bay. Animals such as seals,
dolphins and even humpback whales have
been spotted off the shores.
“I want to thank Senator Addabbo for
his partnership on this legislation, and to
the Jamaica Bay Ecowatchers and numerous
civic leaders and organizations for
their advocacy.”
BY BILL PARRY
bparry@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e MTA honored four of its bridge
and tunnel offi cers and a sergeant who
took swift action to protect Indie, a rescue
dog who bolted from Manhattan’s
Upper West Side and escaped through
the Queens Midtown Tunnel on the
evening of June 8. Indie was captured
on surveillance cameras running
against oncoming traffi c in the
tunnel during rush hour.
Informed that the puppy
was in danger in the tunnel’s
Manhattan-bound tube, Sgt.
Orlando Caholo ordered
oncoming traffi c to be halted
briefl y to prevent the
possibility of an accident,
which can occur when
motorists swerve or
stop suddenly to
avoid hitting an animal
running freely in
the tunnel.
“Offi cer Minutello
was receiving calls
from 911 saying
there was a dog in
the tunnel. A few offi cers went into the
tunnel, Michael Winn and Alexander
Figueroa, they went into the tunnel to
confi rm there was a dog in there, and it
was,” Sgt. Caholo said. “Th ey stopped traffi
c. Th ey put their patrol cars to stop any
incoming traffi c. Th ey tried their best to
catch her. She got away from them. She
was pretty fast. And once they confi rmed
it, I went into the tunnel, and I saw her
pass my vehicle.”
Following Caholo’s
orders, Offi cer Latoria
Bosley was positioned
at the Queens entrance
to the tunnel while Winn
and Figueroa
searched for
Indie. Th e dog eventually emerged on
the Queens side in Long Island City, and
traffi c resumed.
But the offi cers weren’t able to catch
Indie and watched as she raced toward
LIC. Offi cer Heather Minutello went on
social media to see if anyone reported
a dog missing that looked like Indie
and she saw owner Heather Angus’ post.
Minutello got in touch with Angus via
social media to let her know that Indie
was lost somewhere in Queens, and
Angus posted “lost dog” fl yers around
the area.
On June 14, Jairo Naranjo of
Ridgewood, who works at a Long Island
City warehouse, contacted Angus aft er
spotting one of her fl yers in a diner. Indie
had spent a week living among feral cats
in the warehouse. Naranjo’s tip led to a
reunifi cation later that day.
On Tuesday, June 22, Angus and Indie
returned to the mouth of the Queens
Midtown Tunnel, where the MTA presented
the offi cers with certifi cates of
commendation for their actions.
“Th ank you for having Indie and I here
today to thank these amazing offi cers,”
said Angus, who works at Mount Sinai
Hospital, where she tended to the sickest
patients during the COVID-19 pandemic
as a nurse anesthetist. “I’m forever
grateful for your speedy action to shut
down the tunnel and for calling with that
life-saving tip. I thought we may be here
to pay Indie’s toll because she was not
wearing an E-ZPass that day.”
Indie wasn’t wearing an E-ZPass at the
June 22 ceremony, but she was sporting
a new tracking collar provided by Fi that
would allow Angus to track Indie from
her phone if Indie ever runs away again.
“When we saw Indie’s story, we reached
out to Heather right away to send her a
Fi collar,” Fi Founder and CEO Jonathan
Bensamoun said. “Should another escape
occur, Heather will now be notifi ed right
away and see Indie’s location as a dot on
a map for easy recovery. Every dog parent
deserves to be empowered to keep
their best friend safe through technology.
Our ultimate goal is to prevent this
heartache from ever happening to millions
of dog owners. Th ere’s over 100
million dogs in the U.S., and less than
1 million smart collars have been sold.
People simply don’t know that ‘Find My
Friends’ for your dog already exists.”
For more information on the tracking
device, visit their website www.tryfi .com.
Meanwhile, MTA Bridges and Tunnels
Vice President and Chief of Operations
Richard Hildebrand praised the offi cers
for their quick thinking that protected
India and motorists in the tube.
“Every day our offi cers work to protect
New Yorkers, even the four-legged ones,”
Hildebrand said. “I am proud of the
work these four offi cers did to keep Indie
safe while making sure drivers could get
where they needed to go.”
Photo courtesy of MTA
The MTA commended several of its bridge and tunnel offi cers that
protected Indie the dog during her escape through the Queens Midtown
Tunnel in June.
Heather Angus and her rescue dog, Indie.
QNS fi le photo
South Queens lawmakers have once again passed legislation that would further protect Jamaica
Bay.
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