FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 23, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Study: Air noise could
impact NE Queens health
Th e fi ght against increased aircraft noise in northeast
Queens took on a diff erent perspective aft er a
new study looked into the health risks associated
with noise.
On Aug. 21, state Senator Tony Avella and
Assemblyman Edward C. Braunstein stood with
Dr. Peter Muenning from Columbia University’s
Mailman School of Public Health to discuss a new
study by Columbia University, entitled “Th e Trade-
Off between Optimizing Flight Patterns and Human
Health.” Representatives of Congressman Tom
Suozzi, Congresswoman Grace Meng and members
of the community were also in attendance.
Th e Columbia study looked into the increase in
airports transitioning into automated fl ight systems,
called TNNIS Climb, a change that was also
implemented at LaGuardia Airport six years ago.
In addition to studying the cost benefi ts of switching
to automated fl ight systems, the study explored
the potential health risks that could come with the
increased air traffi c over populated areas.
Th e study found that despite the effi ciency of the
fl ight automation systems, if a careful assessment
of noise isn’t performed they may generate fl ight
paths over densely populated areas and cause serious
health conditions for residents in those areas.
“Th e FAA places a very high value on lives inside
airplanes, but places a low value on those inside their
homes,” Muenning said. “Reducing airplane noise
would prevent more deaths than screening for breast
or colon cancer, and it would do so at a lower cost.”
Emily Davenport
Bayside couple pays
price for torturing
housekeeper
A Bayside husband and wife faced justice on
Tuesday more than 3 1/2 years aft er they kidnapped
and brutally tortured their housekeeper.
Devanand and Ambar Lachman, both 35-yearold
residents of 217th Street, pleaded guilty in
September 2017 to charges in connection with the
Feb. 13, 2015, kidnapping and assault. At their
sentencing on Aug. 21, Queens District Attorney
Richard A. Brown said, Devanand Lachman was
ordered to serve 10 years behind bars and fi ve years’
post-release supervision, while Ambar Lachman was
handed down a fi ve-year probation sentence.
Law enforcement sources said the incident
occurred on the aft ernoon of Feb. 13, 2015, when
the housekeeper, identifi ed as Daisy Machuca, was
confronted by Devanand Lachman and an unapprehended
male suspect inside the Lachman home.
Armed with knives and a fi rearm, the two
men seized the housekeeper’s phone and wallet;
Devanand Lachman, who accused Machuca of stealing
cash and a gold chain, then repeatedly punched
her.
Later that day, Ambar Lachman returned home
and watched Machuca as her husband repeatedly
struck her and burned her feet with a welding
blow torch. Prosecutors said that Ambar Lachman
allegedly told Machuca that she knew of the alleged
theft , and threatened to kill her if they didn’t tell
them where the money and jewelry were.
Authorities said that Ambar Lachman then took
the housekeeper’s keys and traveled out to her Port
Washington home, where she searched for the
money and chain, but did not locate them.
Offi cers from the 111th Precinct apprehended
Devanand and Ambar Lachman later that day. Th e
unapprehended suspect remains at large.
Robert Pozarycki
Photo by Jenna Bagcal
Bringing the fi ne arts to Bell Blvd.
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com
@jenna_bagcal
An empty storefront at 41-23 Bell
Blvd. will soon transform into a
“creator’s environment” for the people
of Bayside.
That is the vision that
BaysideLiveTV founder and resident
Gregg Sullivan has for the
Bayside Center for the Arts, who
announced on Facebook that preparations
for the nonprofi t-run center
were underway. Th e center is slated
to combine “artistic creativity and
community integration,” and has the
approval of Community Board 11,
Sullivan told QNS.
In the front of the roughly
3,000-square-foot building, will be
a place for visual artists like painters
and photographers to showcase their
work in a gallery setting. In addition,
the front would also serve as a meeting
space where the public, including
the community board and other
local organizations, could convene.
He said that the second half would
serve as an intimate, 70-seat performing
arts center, where the center
could put on plays, musical performances
and seminars similar
to the well-known TED Talks on
YouTube. Sullivan added that the
building’s second half could also
be used for aspiring producers and
YouTubers to create high-quality
video content.
Sullivan said that the center would
bring a huge boost to the economy
and aid the falling retail market
in the area that took a hit when
MovieWorld in Douglaston closed
in July. In addition, he said it would
bring a renewed sense of pride to
Bayside and help with the neighborhood’s
branding.
He held a town hall meeting to
gauge what residents wanted and
needed in the neighborhood and
recalled them asking to “make
Bayside relevant again.” What he
realized is that residents had been
desperately craving a place for the
community to gather that wasn’t just
one of the myriad bars and eateries
that line the boulevard.
Sullivan said that the Bayside
Council for the Arts will be responsible
for vetting and choosing the
acts, performers and artists who will
utilize the space. In two weeks, he
confi rmed that the center is hosting
its fi rst art show, with more details
to come as the date of the show
approaches.
41-23 Bell Blvd.
Photo via Facebook/BaysideLiveTV
Gregg Sullivan and Bayside resident Bill Ruiz
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