FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM AUGUST 30, 2018 • THE QUEENS COURIER 3
Queens College
gets $750K for
improvements
With an infusion in state funding, Queens
College in Flushing will hit the ground running
in its plans to renovate the athletic track and other
campus facilities.
Last week, state lawmakers met with Queens
College offi cials to formally present $750,000 in
funds for capital improvements. Two-thirds of the
funds will be used to renovate Queens College’s
outdoor running track, and the remainder will
go toward upgrades outlined in the college’s capital
plan.
Assemblywoman Nily Rozic, who allocated the
state funding, took part in the presentation along
with state Senator Toby Ann Stavisky, Queens
College President Felix V. Matos Rodríguez and
faculty and staff from both Queens College and
Townsend Harris High School, which also uses
the fi eld.
“As Queens College continues upgrading campus
facilities, expanding degree programs, and
building community partnerships, it is my privilege
to provide funding that will allow Queens
College to achieve its mission of serving students
and the Queens community,” Rozic said.
Th e Queens College capital plan, as noted,
includes upgrades to the campus’s electrical,
heating and air conditioning systems as well as
improvements to science laboratories at Remsen
Hall and renovations to the Fitzgerald Gymnasium.
Robert Pozarycki
Suspect sought for
violent stabbing
The suspect who
brutally knifed his former
girlfriend on an
Elmhurst street early
on Tuesday morning
was still at large when
Th e Courier went to
press on Wednesday
aft ernoon.
Law enforcement
sources said the bloody
attack occurred at 4:50 a.m. in the vicinity of Forley
Street and Lamont Avenue.
According to authorities, the suspect — identifi
ed as 33-year-old Juan Portoviejo — approached
the 31-year-old woman as she exited from a livery
cab. Th e New York Daily News reported that the
victim was Portoviejo’s former girlfriend.
Portoviejo allegedly knifed the woman repeatedly
around her torso and neck, then ran from the
scene, police said.
Offi cers from the 110th Precinct along with EMS
units. Medical professionals determined that the
woman sustained more than 20 stab wounds to
her torso and neck; according to the Daily News,
she suff ered a punctured lung and a slashed throat,
but the wounds narrowly missed other vital organs
and arteries.
Paramedics rushed the victim to Elmhurst
Hospital, where she’s listed in stable condition.
Cops describe Portoviejo as standing 5 feet 5
inches tall and weighing 150 pounds. Th e Daily
News noted that Portoviejo had attacked the victim
more than two weeks earlier, on Aug. 13, choking
her as she got out of a cab at an Elmhurst location.
Anyone with information regarding the suspect’s
whereabouts is urged to call Crime Stoppers at
800-577-TIPS. All calls are kept confi dential.
Robert Pozarycki
Photos courtesy of Councilman Paul Vallone
First junior high school in
College Point ready for class
BY JENNA BAGCAL
jbagcal@qns.com/ @jenna_bagcal
College Point will opens its fi rst
junior high school in the area on
the fi rst day of the new school year,
Sept. 5.
Next Wednesday, M.S. 379, located
at 124-06 14th Ave., will welcome
a class of incoming sixth-grade students
in the area. For years, residents
have pushed for a middle school in
their neighborhood, as the closest
options for College Point students
were P.S. 185 in Flushing or P.S. 194
in Whitestone.
M.S. 379, also known as College
Point Collaborative, was chosen by
students in the nearby elementary
schools P.S. 29 and P.S. 129. Th e
507-seat school will be housed in
an air-conditioned and fully ADAaccessible
three-story building with
19 classrooms and two district special
education classrooms.
Other amenities include a reading
resource classroom, art classroom,
science lab, music suite, library and
gymnasium with locker rooms.
Th e NYC School Construction
Authority (SCA) was responsible for
the design and construction of M.S.
379, at the site of the former St.
Fidelis School, which closed its doors
in 2013.
Back in 2017, QNS reported that
residents had started a petition
to replace St. Fidelis with a middle
school the same year the school
closed. Th e Department of Education
(DOE) gave the green light to move
forward with the middle school in
April of last year.
On Aug. 28, Councilman Paul
Vallone was joined by Interim Acting
Principal Renee Klager and representatives
from the SCA for a walkthrough
of the state-of-the-art school.
“I’m very excited about opening
the very fi rst public middle school in
College Point,” Klager said. “I cannot
wait to welcome students and the
community to the school and look
forward to working collaboratively
with students and the community
to build a student-centered learning
environment.”
“To stand at the doors of College
Point’s brand-new middle school on
the eve of its inaugural year is to
realize a long-awaited dream for the
community,” Vallone said. “College
Point Collaborative is truly a team
eff ort that has included the parents
and families of College Point from
day one. Principal Klager’s vision and
determination is clearly seen in the
beauty and uniqueness of every room
in the school.”
Vallone has been working closely
with the school and local community
organizers in the implementation of
M.S. 379’s marine biology programs.
“We’ve also partnered with the New
York Harbor School and the Coastal
Preservation Network to provide further
marine biology resources, environmental
awareness and opportunities
for students moving forward,”
the councilman said.
Th e Coastal Preservation Network
in partnership with the school’s science
department will allow students
to take two trips to the nearby
waterfront to observe oysters and
plant seagrass with marine pathologist
Dr. James Cervino. In addition,
the school is also working with the
Billion Oyster Project to study oyster
life and survival.
In advance of the school year,
Vallone has also been working with
the Department of Transportation
(DOT) to secure a “school slow zone”
for the safety of students, parents and
teachers.
On Friday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 a.m.,
College Point Collaborative will host
a “Coff ee and Conversation” event
to meet Klager and view the school.
An offi cial ribbon-cutting is slated
to take place on Monday, Aug. 20, at
3:30 p.m.
M.S. 379 will be the fi rst junior high school in College Point.
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