FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JULY 26, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
College Point pizza
deliveryman freed from ICE
Having spent more than 50 days in ICE custody, a delivery driver
for a College Point pizzeria seized aft er bringing food to Fort
Hamilton in Brooklyn has been released, offi cials announced
Tuesday.
With help from the Legal Aid Society and Debevoise & Plimpton
LLP, Pablo Villavicencio, 35, was granted an extending a stay of
deportation by a federal judge, which will allow him time to secure
valid immigration status.
Villavicencio, who resides in Hempstead, Long Island, was
arrested and detained aft er he delivered a catering order to Fort
Hamilton Army Base in Brooklyn on June 1. At the time of the
delivery, Villavicencio reportedly presented his IDNYC card to
the military police on duty at the base upon his arrival and was
told by military police that he needed a driver’s license, which he
didn’t have.
An on-site background check found the Villavicencio had an
open order of deportation dating back to 2010. Military police
then detained Villavicencio and called Immigration and Customs
Enforcement (ICE) offi cers, who took him into custody.
Villavicencio had been working for Nonna Delia’s brick-oven
pizzeria in College Point for the past eight months. His wife and
two young daughters are U.S. citizens, and Villavicencio had no
criminal record.
Many Queens politicians penned letters to ICE to fi nd out
more information about why Villavicencio was detained. Th e letters
pointed out that Villavicencio had a pending appeal regarding
his deportation through the United States Citizenship and
Immigration Services department, but he was detained anyway.
Emily Davenport
Four wanted for massage
parlor robberies
Cops are looking for four men who robbed two Queens massage
parlors just fi ve days apart from each other.
According to police, at 11:50 a.m. on July 13, the suspects were
inside Prince Spa, located at 33-70 Prince St., when they grabbed
two female employees and demanded money. Th e crooks took
$500 in cash and a cellphone before fl eeing southbound on Prince
Street in a dark-colored sedan. Th ere were no injuries reported as
a result of this incident.
Days later on July 18, the suspects were inside Angels Love
Bubbles massage parlor, located at 28-25 31 St. in Astoria, at 4:25
a.m. Th e suspects displayed a sharp object to the 37-year-old
female victim and demanded money.
Th e thieves took $1,000 and four cellphones before fl eeing the
location northbound on 31st Street in a black, four-door Honda.
Th e victim sustained minor injury during the altercation and
refused medical attention on scene.
All four suspects are described by police as Hispanic men
between the ages of 20 and 22 and standing 5 feet, 10 inches tall.
Anyone with information in regards to this incident is asked to
call the NYPD’s Crime Stoppers Hotline at 800-577-TIPS (8477)
or for Spanish, 888-57-PISTA (74782).
Emily Davenport
Photo by Suzanne Monteverdi/The Courier
Local elected offi cials and residents rally at the site of the proposed Bay Terrace development
Bayside residents rally against proposed
development to house daycare
BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI
smonteverdi@qns.com / @
smont76
As a property owner tries to set
plans for a controversial Bayside
development in motion, members
of the northeast Queens
community are vowing to fi ght
the project “tooth and nail.”
More than 100 residents gathered
on July 20 for a rally outside
of 214-10 15th Ave., where
a developer is proposing to erect
a four-story, mixed-use building
with underground parking. Th e
demonstration was organized
by the Bay Terrace Community
Alliance (BTCA), who said the
project raises safety and quality
of life concerns.
In recent weeks, developer
Dun Xing Zhang of Bayside
215th Realty LLC demolished the
two existing two-family structures
at the site and submitted
plans to construct a building
containing 18 apartment units
and 5,320 square feet for a “community
facility,” reportedly dedicated
to a daycare center.
“Th at would totally destroy the
character of this neighborhood,”
state Senator Tony Avella said of
the plans. “Th e community has
risen up to say, ‘No.’”
Data on the city Department
of Building’s website indicates
the application to construct the
building was rejected on June 25
due to incomplete drawings. Th e
Department of Environmental
Protection also issued developers
a Stop Work Order on July
12 aft er inspectors discovered
work being performed at the
site violated the New York City
Air Pollution Control Code or
Asbestos Rules.
Th e plot of land is located in
an R5 zoning district, which
allows for three- and four-story
attached residences and small
apartment houses with a height
limit of 40 feet.
“We’re here to send a message
to the developer: just because you
can do something legally doesn’t
mean it’s the right thing to do,”
Assemblyman Ed Braunstein
said. “A daycare center on this
block is going to be a disaster.”
Avella said his offi ce was able to
contact the property owner, who
claimed he was willing to meet
with the senator about the community’s
concerns. Th e Courier
could not reach the owner for
comment.
“Th is is a nightmare waiting
to happen,” Avella said. “We’re
going to fi ght this tooth and
nail.”
Th e proposed development
has renewed the call to see a
down-zoning in the Bay Terrace
neighborhood. Braunstein and
Councilman Paul Vallone have
penned a letter to City Planning
Commission chair Marisa Lago,
asking the agency to conduct a
rezoning study for the area.
“Th e most important thing
that we need to do is we need to
down-zone the rest of this area so
that what happens here doesn’t
happen on the rest of the block,”
Braunstein said. “An 18-apartment
complex with a daycare is
not contextual with the rest of
the neighborhood.”
Members of groups in the
surrounding area, including
the Northwest Bayside
Civic Association, We Love
Whitestone, Holly Civic
Association and Bayside Hills
Civic Association, also attended
Friday’s rally to show their
support.
“Th is is a united eff ort by every
elected offi cial that represents
this neighborhood and the civics
— well beyond the Bay Terrace
community,” Avella said.
BTCA president Matthew
Silverstein encouraged residents
to contact the City Planning
Commission and Department of
Buildings with their concerns,
and 311 with any job site complaints.
“We care very deeply about
the character of our community,”
BTCA president Matthew
Silverstein said. “We must send a
clear message that we are standing
up and fi ghting for our community
and will not allow this to
go through.”
Residents at the rally distributed
a petition against the development
and in favor of a local
rezoning. Dolores Kushel, who
has lived in a co-op building in
the area for over four decades,
spoke in favor of the move.
“Th is building doesn’t belong
in the neighborhood,” Kushel
said. “Next, they’ll be buying up
other houses. It’s going to ruin
the neighborhood.”
link
